BELLINGHAM, Wash. — After 15 years of friendship, Chris Hughes wanted to help Brent Detta however he could, after his friend had a brush with death.

Detta, a longtime endurance athlete, was out for a bike ride in Skagit Valley when he was hit by a vehicle. He suffered multiple broken bones and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, where he's been in and out for the past two weeks.

Police fined the driver for negligent driving.

Meanwhile, Detta's family has been making the trip to and from Seattle from Bellingham.

Hughes started a fundraiser to help.

"I was watching the donations coming in and they were coming in so fast that the app was freezing," he said.

Donations have come in the form of hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Hughes has coached fellow triathletes, as well as midd

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