Combat Vets Motorcycle Association Member Hospitalized After Accident

Veteran recovering from serious motorcycle crash after visiting Chattanooga shooting memorials
WRCB TV
By Sara Sidery, Reporter
Aug 04, 2015

The ride was a way for the retired Army Colonel to help channel his grief and frustration for what happened -- and to show his support for the military.

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) - A veteran traveled to Chattanooga to show his support for the servicemen killed in last month's shooting rampage, and ended up in a fight for his own life.

Jim Bachman is a member of the Combat Vets Motorcycle Association. He was one of more than 100 bikers riding in support of the five servicemen gunned down at a military installation last month.

Bachman was on his way back to Nashville when he crashed in Marion County on July 25, suffering serious injuries. He has been upgraded from critical condition. He's still in pain, but has a long recovery ahead of him -- and says he considers himself "extremely lucky" to be alive.

"The road wasn't that bad, we weren't going that fast. I'm convinced the heat exhaustion played a part in it," Bachman said on Day 11 of his hospital stay at Erlanger on Tuesday.

He suffered 10 broken ribs, a broken shoulder and a collapsed lung after crashing his motorcycle on the way home from visiting the Chattanooga memorials.

The week after the shooting, the Vietnam veteran organized a ride to Chattanooga for 125 members of the Combat Vets Motorcycle Association out of the Nashville area.
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