By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

The family of a Rockwell motorcyclist say he was seriously injured in a recent Stokes Ferry Road collision, but he is on the mend.

James Matthew Whaley, 61, was thrown from his motorcycle March 8 after he was struck by a passenger vehicle sometime after 5 p.m.

According to N.C. Highway Patrol officials, Whaley was traveling southeast on Stokes Ferry Road on his 2014 BMW motorcycle when a 1991 Ford passenger car leaving from a private drive at 5655 Stokes Ferry Road turned left onto Stokes Ferry Road.

The driver of the passenger car was Barry Michael Myers, 69, of Mooresville. Highway Patrol officials confirmed Myers failed to yield the right of way and pulled into the path of the motorcycle. Myers was charged with failure to yield.

Whaley, a Rockwell native, was thrown from his motorcycle. He was taken to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center and later flown to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Authorities had to block traffic in the 5600 block of Stokes Ferry Road between Oddie and Barger roads for about 40 minutes while medical responders tended to Whaley.

His wife, Nancy, said Wednesday her husband is alive and fighting every day.

James Whaley broke every bone in his body except in both feet and his head, his wife said.

He has several surgeries to undergo, but the family is glad he’s on the mend. She called her husband a very safety-minded motorcyclist and said he’s been riding for 39 years.

“We appreciate all the love and caring our family has received,” Nancy said.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.