A Bokeelia man is sharing his story and advocating for road improvements after surviving a motorcycle crash on Burnt Store Road in June that left him critically injured.
Kevin McGrotty says he doesn't remember the moment he flew off his motorcycle and ended up in a hospital bed.
"This car was going 40 miles an hour in a 55 and I slowed down, proceeded to go around," McGrotty said. "As I did, he [the other driver] immediately turned left, and I basically hit the back end of his vehicle, and the bike slid up and I flew over his windshield."
McGrotty sustained injuries to his head, collar bone, hand and leg.
McGrotty sustained injuries to his head, collar bone, hand and leg.
"They shut the road down and sent a sheriff to the hospital to do a death investigation," McGrotty said.
McGrotty survived but says he spent six weeks in a wheelchair.
He says he contacted WINK News in the hopes that sharing his story would spark change.
McGrotty isn't the only one who's been injured in a crash on Burnt Store Road.
Cape Coral police records show officers have responded to 51 crashes on Burnt Store Road just this year, with 15 resulting in injuries.
In October, another collision on the road killed three people.
Following the fatal crash, city and county leaders said the road's dangerous conditions are concerning.
"This is a road I'd like to see us widen as soon as possible," Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman said in an October meeting.
A Lee County spokesperson said in an email, "Several phases of Burnt Store Road" have already been widened.
"The only remaining segment is the one that is subject to the current Project Development & Environmental (PD&E) study, which is nearly complete," a spokesperson said in an email.
The Florida Department of Transportation recently approved the next phase of the widening project for Burnt Store Road, stretching from Van Buren Parkway to the Charlotte County line.
The plan expands the road from two to four lanes, with room for six lanes in the future.
The estimated cost is between $185 million and $190 million, but there is currently no timeline for completion.
In the meantime, Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass has asked law enforcement to increase patrols on the road.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office said traffic enforcement on Burnt Store Road is a multi-jurisdictional effort and traffic operations are ongoing.
Meanwhile, McGrotty said he has no choice but to continue to drive on the road he almost died on at least two to three times a week, something he says gives him immense anxiety.
"You're thinking about it constantly," he said.
He said the road improvements can't come soon enough.
"Just do whatever you can, whatever you need to do, to collaborate between the City of Cape Coral and Lee County, and get this thing done," McGrotty said.