Cotati DUI crash devastates family financially, but not spiritually

With a steel bar drilled through his right knee, a full-length cast plastered over the other leg and a sizable hole in his throat, 64-year-old Chris Loukas takes a lick of his orange Popsicle then calmly whispers, "funnything, I feel no pain."

On Jan. 28, a suspected drunken driver in a blue 1989 Bronco took a left turn onto Alder Avenue from Gravenstein Highway in Cotati and slammed into Loukas in his 1980 grey Chevrolet Sprint.

At 7:45 p.m., it was already dark, and the streets slick from rain. Still, the Bronco maneuvered so suddenly, Cotati police said Loukas, who was wearing his seat belt, never had a chance to step on the brakes.

The driver, 38-year-old Steven Clyde Backman of Novato, banged his face causing a -1/4-inch cut on his nose. An accident report shows he also complained of head pain.

Loukas has been at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital ever since and only recently awoke from a coma.

"I've been on my back this whole time," he said in frustration. "I can't go anywhere.''

Loukas was badly mangled in the wreck, suffering a collapsed lung, ruptured diaphragm, lacerated liver, bruised pancreas, broken ribs, fractured pelvis, shattered legs, internal bleeding and bruising on his brain.

A medical team worked feverishly to rebuild and patch together his body, and at times it seemed hopeless.

Whenever doctors attempted to fix one organ, another would fail, said his wife, Dian, who moved from their Cazadero home into an apartment in Santa Rosa near the hospital.

"They say he's a miracle," she said.

Though the worst seems to be over, Loukas must endure a hip operation and months of rehabilitation. He will never again be able to walk normally.

"I survived when they said I wouldn't," he said, his curly white hair matted to the side of his head from days of lying on his back. "Sometimes I can't believe what I'm going through."

Loukas had just dropped off his 15-year-old daughter and two of her friends at a reggae concert in Petaluma and was on his way to Sebastopol to pick up his wife for a night at the movies when the collision occurred.

Cotati police Officer Edward Dorsaneo said Backman's blood-alcohol level was .20, more than twice the legal limit of .08. He also was driving with a suspended license.

That January night, Backman had a few drinks at the Washoe House in Petaluma with a cousin and a friend, the police report states.

Driving east on Gravenstein Highway, Backman slowed down for a left turn onto Alder Avenue where the three were going to another bar, Red's Recovery Room, Dorsaneo said. Benjamin Backman told police his cousin's driving was "inconsistent" and the two men had planned to switch places.

It was too late.

Backman spent the night in jail, posting bail the next morning. He said his case has not yet gone to trial and refused to be interviewed.

His cousin was relieved to find out Loukas was recovering. "That's good news,'' he said Saturday. "That makes me happy. Thank you for letting me know."

He declined further comment saying only that it was a "horrible memory."

According to police reports, Benjamin Backman fled the scene of the accident because it was too "sickening." He later telephoned police and gave a statement.

Loukas said he has not heard from or spoken to Steve Backman, but said he feels no animosity toward him.

"I pass no judgment on him whatsoever," he said, electronically raising the hospital bed then immediately lowering it -- the only movement he is allowed. "It's something I know deep in my heart that he didn't do on purpose. Nobody ever does. I don't wish him ill will. I hope the best for him."

But Backman was only insured for $15,000 and Loukas' hospital bills are soaring. That amount alone covered his first day of hospital stay, Dian said.

The couple opened The Crystal People shop in Sebastopol a year ago and do not have health insurance. As a result, they must sell their three-story Cazadero home, the shop and wipe out their life's savings to pay the bills.

"I don't know what we're going to do," said his wife, her eyes wide with worry. "But I haven't lost perspective. I know that the important thing is he's alive, if we lose everything, it won't matter as long as I have him in the end."

The accident threw the Loukas' life into an upheaval. Their 15-year-old daughter, Melody, has stayed with various friends in the Cazadero area. Crystal, 12, spends weeknights with a family friend in Santa Rosa and weekends with her mother. Dian remains at her husband's bedside all day, everyday.

Friends of the family are organizing fund-raisers.

"I can't believe all these wonderful people are helping us," Chris Loukas said. "I didn't know so many people cared."

Chris and Dian met 17 years ago on a blind date at a Tony Bennett concert.

"His first words to me were 'I love you,'" Dian said, laughing as she tells the story. "I thought 'wow, what a line.'"

Chris' hazel eyes light up then and he says almost defensively, "well she looked so beautiful that night."

The couple is involved in what they call alternative healing, which works something like mental control over pain using different colored crystals for guidance. And though doctors early on told Dian she may have to make a decision about cutting off machines keeping her husband alive, she always knew he would survive the ordeal.

Throughout his hospitalization, doctors allowed Dian to perform acupressure on her husband. And three days before physicians told her Chris may die, she said she felt "energy" running through his body.''

"It was hard because I always knew he would make it, but I was the only one who believed it," she said.

At the foot of his bed, a purple prayer shawl is draped over a shelf where a large clear crystal, the hat he wore at the time of his accident and countless get well cards are neatly arranged.

They have tried hard to make the stay comfortable but Chris can't help but wish to go back in time. "What I really desire is to undo everything," he said. "I want to end up in Sebastopol, pick up my wife and go to the movies and say, 'wow, what a dream.'"