Auction bidder gives $50,000 to Riley Hospital

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind.– A Montgomery County resident slipped in a winning bid of $50,100 in the waning seconds of an online auction last week to nab the motorcycle that rode onto the field before Indianapolis Colts games last season.\nJim Deer already owns Colts motorcycles from the previous two seasons. He said he bought the bike because money from the auction went to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.\n“I was willing to bid up to $75,200 as a way of showing my appreciation for the one and a half years Riley gave me with my daughter,” he said. “Without them, she would have probably died the day she was born or shortly thereafter, and I had a wonderful one-and-a-half years because of what they did.”\nDeer’s daughter, Samantha Dawn, weighed just 4 pounds, 3 ounces when she was born and needed open heart surgery six days afterward. She died in 2000.\nDeer, who calls himself a Colts fan but not a fanatic, entered the winning bid just 90 seconds before the weeklong auction ended. He plans to pick up his prize next week. He hopes to take his three motorcycles to shows and other events to raise money for Riley.