Tampa LGBT activist, volunteer and former business owner Bill Kanouff was seriously injured the evening of Nov. 11 when a vehicle pulled into the path of his motorcycle at the intersection of Himes Boulevard and S. Himes Avenue.
Kanouff, 53, was transported to Tampa General Hospital's trauma unit with serious injuries and has undergone numerous surgeries, but he is expected to survive.
According to Jan Heimrich, Kanouff's sister, Kanouff broke both arms and both legs in the accident and doctors found a severe blood clot near his heart. After surgery, both arms and one leg were repaired and the clot was cleared. The other leg, however, could not be saved after multiple surgeries and was amputated, according to Rose Cleveland, who is the aunt of Kanouff's partner.
Friends close to Kanouff said that he is in good spirits, however, and has already started physical therapy.
The accident happened shortly after 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, when a 2010 Dodge Charger driven by Charles Lawton, 69, attempted to make a left hand turn from Henderson Boulevard onto S. Himes Avenue. A synopsis of the incident from the Tampa Police Department says that Lawton pulled out in front of Kanouff, who was traveling westbound on Henderson on his 2005 Honda motorcycle. Kanouff struck the right front quarter panel of Lawton's vehicle and was thrown from his motorcycle.
The accident is still under investigation and it is unclear if alcohol played a factor in the crash. Andrea Davis, public information officer with the Tampa Police Department, said that no tickets or charges have been issued, but that could change depending on the results of the investigation.
Kanouff is a long-time volunteer with the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and ran Tomes and Treasures bookstore in Hyde Park for more than 20 years. Most recently, Kanouff helped coordinate a fundraiser for an LGBT Youth Clinic (YYC) in Ybor City.
“The YYC is filling a long-recognized, yet unmet need in the Tampa Bay Area,” Kanouff told Watermark in an August interview. “We are reaching out to provide care to youth in Tampa Bay that have been ignored, underserved, or have not felt welcomed or comfortable in traditional health care settings. This population includes HIV positive and high-risk youth; LGBTQ youth; homeless and street youth; and sexually exploited youth.”
Kanouff was not taking phone calls at press time but Facebook posts by his friends and family members indicate that he is continuing to heal and that he will be transported to a rehabilitation center once released from the hospital.
Davis said that the department's investigation into the Nov. 11 incident could take up to a month to complete. No more information could be released, she said, because of the ongoing investigation.
