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Fundraiser Gets Handyman and Everywhere Cyclist Frank Diaz, 79, New Bike 2 Weeks After Crash

August 29, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Francisco Diaz, who turns 80 next month, is back on a brand new bike after his porevious bike was totaled in a crash with a car on State Road 100, when Sheriff Rick Staly, right, responded, and helped organize a fund-raiser to get Diaz back on his wheels. (© FlaglerLive)
Francisco Diaz, who turns 80 next month, is back on a brand new bike after his porevious bike was totaled in a crash with a car on State Road 100, when Sheriff Rick Staly, right, responded, and helped organize a fund-raiser to get Diaz back on his wheels. (© FlaglerLive)

Two weeks ago Francisco “Frank” Diaz was thrown off his bike, injured and hospitalized after a crash with a car he’d not seen as he crossed State Road 100 near Belle Terre Parkway. His tricycle was totaled. It was another blow for the nearly 80–year-old handyman who has no other means of transportation since a judge revoked his driver’s license two decades ago in Volusia County. He’d been biking around Flagler for 17 years.




Today, Diaz went home with a brand new tricycle, donated through a fundraiser organized by The Bike Man’s Joseph Golan, a bike from the Palm Coast Bicycle Trail Shop, and an assist from Sheriff Rick Staly, who’d been at the scene of the crash and recognized Diaz from seeing him crisscross town so often.

Staly happened to have just left his office at the courthouse for lunch when he heard the crash-with-injuries call on the radio around noon Aug. 15. He headed there, and was among those tending to Diaz when Diaz looked up and said: “Is that Rick?” Staly was unaware until today that Diaz had once worked on refurbishing furniture that belongs to the sheriff, and that now sits in Staly’s house.

Josep Golan, right, of The Bike Man non-profit, with Diaz. (© FlaglerLive)
Josep Golan, right, of The Bike Man non-profit, with Diaz. (© FlaglerLive)

“I looked in the mirror and both lanes were empty, so I cut across,” Diaz said. “Then I heard BEEP, and I went over. So she didn’t see me until she was right on top of me.” He said he would have been dead had it not been for the basket on the back of his bike that, he said, saved him.

“He had the wrong mirrors on his bike so when he changed lanes mirrors were concave,” Staly said. “He thought the car was further away than it was when he changed lanes. And fortunately he was not seriously looked pretty bad at the time.”

Staly knew that Diaz depended on his bike for all his travels. He asked around at the Sheriff’s Office if there was anything in found property that could be donated. There was nothing there. He contacted Joseph Golan of The Bike Man, a non-profit that takes used bikes, rebuilds them and donates them.




The Bike Man has been operating with 12 volunteers in Bunnell since 2014, working in association with the Sheltering Tree, the organization that runs the county’s only cold weather homeless shelter, Christmas Come True, the Flagler Beach non-profit for the needy, the Family Life Center, the shelter for abused persons, and over a dozen others. The organization works on 2,000 bikes a year, Golan said–“it’s kids, it’s adults, we work with Volusia-Flagler Foster Care program, St. Augustine Youth Services.”

Golan has also been friends with Diaz for five years. He put the fundraiser together, “because it’s an expensive piece of machinery,” he said of the particular kind of bike that was needed. Since he didn’t have that kind of bike, Golan contacted Palm Coast Bicycle Trail Shop, which opened a little over a year ago at 320 Palm Coast Parkway, east of Club House Drive, by the Shell station. The shop’s Mark Quinn had just gotten a tricycle in on a trade and was going to donate it to Diaz. Instead he decided to donate a brand new bike and all the labor necessary to outfit it for Diaz’s needs. The motor was added, with a 20-amp battery assist, forward and reverse gears, lights, a power gauge, a speedometer. Diaz also got a 15-foot locker to store the bike.

The Palm Coast Bicycle Trail Shop's Mark Quinn with Diaz. (© FlaglerLive)
The Palm Coast Bicycle Trail Shop’s Mark Quinn with Diaz. (© FlaglerLive)

The sheriff said $1,200 was needed for the electrical motor. The Bike Man ran a fundraiser on Facebook. Staly kicked it off with $250 of his own, The Bike Man matched it, and the fundraiser was off. It met its goal in 12 hours, eventually stopping at $2,300. Diaz is getting the balance of the money, $1,000, from The Bike Men “to help you with your expenses from the hospital and maybe that ticket the trooper wrote you,” Staly said. “That’s what community is all about.” (Diaz got a $166 ticket for careless driving.)




Diaz says he’s “on the bike seven days a week,” living in Bunnell, but he doesn’t know how many miles he travels every day. He just finished a job 14 miles away from his house, near the VFW on Old Kings Road. Whatever the weather, he says he makes it to work on time. said he works on everything but electrical work. He also volunteers his time. He has no intention of stopping to work, though he’ll be 80 next month and has the aches and pains of age and from his recent crash, including five staples still in his head that he’s been trying to get rid of. (The sheriff is connecting him with the county’s paramedicine unit to resolve the issue.)

The hand-over of the Sun bike was conducted at the Palm Coast Bicycle Trail Shop. Diaz didn’t have to bike home just yet. Golan loaded the bike on a trailer and drove him home.

Francisco Diaz. (© FlaglerLive)
Francisco Diaz. (© FlaglerLive)
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nanci Whitley says

    August 29, 2022 at 4:56 pm

    Wonderful story, FlaglerLive. Thanks for reporting it. I have two bikes to donate, does anyone have a number for the bike man?

  2. Kat says

    August 29, 2022 at 6:37 pm

    I love this story on so many levels. Thanks for sharing a tale of kindness, we need more of these! Don’t get me wrong, I like the news stories too but this stuff counteracts some of the anxiety that politics tend to produce.

  3. David Charles Sullivan says

    August 29, 2022 at 7:03 pm

    Great end to this unfortunate accident. Good luck Francisco.

  4. Art says

    August 29, 2022 at 9:53 pm

    Great guy love seeing him every day riding up and down 100, very glad to see he is ok he’s an inspiration

  5. The Voice Of Reason says

    August 29, 2022 at 10:20 pm

    Nice. I see this gent pedaling on the hottest of days and he’s amazing. Thanks Sheriff and The Bike Man and the Bicycle trail Shop.

  6. Celia Pugliese says

    August 29, 2022 at 11:15 pm

    Such and uplifting editorial so big hand for sheriff Staly, Mr. Quin and Mr. Golan outstanding community leaders! As for Mr. Diaz thank you for your resilience and an exemplary life of hard work and determination, but be extra careful out there while riding your new one of a kind bike now! Happy and safe riding to you.

  7. Algernon says

    August 30, 2022 at 12:53 am

    I see Frank often and we’ll share a few words. The donation of the tricycle to Frank is heartwarming. Kudos to all involved, including Joseph Golan, Mike Quinn, Sheriff Rick Staly, and all who donated and helped.

    With all the crime and sad stories around, this story is a treat to read. I wish Frank had not had to endure the accident to see the community outreach though. Very glad he’s healing.

  8. James says

    August 30, 2022 at 11:22 am

    To the moderator…

    “… He just finished a job 14 miles away from his hoe, near the VFW on Old Kings Road. …”

    You do mean hoMe right?

    Thanks.

  9. Ellen Kincaid says

    August 31, 2022 at 6:42 am

    This is community at its finest!!

  10. Carol says

    August 31, 2022 at 8:08 am

    I know Mr.Diaz from a past job I had. Turns out we are from the same area of Mass. He is the sweetest guy and when I heard about his accident I was really upset. Glad to see he is doing well. Love all the outpouring of love and kindness he is receiving! And the bike is so awesome! Wicked pissa job to all who helped!

  11. Concerned Citizen says

    August 31, 2022 at 11:00 am

    Hi Nanci,

    I located this on a Google Search. Hope it helps. (386) 283-0111

    They are located down at the Atlantis business complex on US1. Where Spectrum used to be and still has the contractors. Bunch of great guys doing what they can to help others in need

  12. Concerned Citizen says

    August 31, 2022 at 11:03 am

    I’m wondering if he needs tools or supplies to replace what might have been damaged in the accident?

    Willing to pitch in if someone is managing it.

    I love our County and our community. I have been here over 20 years and consider it home. When I see stuff like this that gets us past all the other unkind stuff it gives me hope. Life is short. Look out for each other and always be kind.

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