Known as Buck to his friends, Roger Hanson was the kind of guy you could count on to help you move.
In the past year, his friends have returned the good-natured man's generosity.
Last September they helped raise more than $21,000 to benefit Hanson, who was seriously injured when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by a car fleeing police in south Fargo.
On Tuesday his friends gave his family a check for $13,000 to help cover his funeral expenses.
Hanson died June 30, a little more than a year after he was struck and left in a vegetative state. He was 50.
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To the funeral, his pallbearers and friends wore black "For the Love of Buck" T-shirts. They had the shirts printed last fall when they sold hamburgers and hotdogs at a benefit for Hanson.
The money raised helped pay Hanson's outstanding bills for credit cards and utilities, said Brenda Boland, who helped organize the fund-raiser.
It covered expenses his family incurred while staying with him in the hospital and in Fargo's Villa Maria nursing home. The funds also made it possible to hire the appraiser who assessed Hanson's home's value before it was sold to help cover medical costs.
Everything left over was given to the family after the funeral, Boland said.
Buck's death, while not unexpected, hit his friends hard.
They comfort themselves by imagining Hanson free and riding his Honda with the angels.
But there is still bitterness over the accident.
Salajko Hidanovic, who struck Hanson, pleaded guilty in December to reckless driving and to leaving an accident scene involving personal injury. A judge sent Hidanovic to prison for eight years, though a Cass County prosecutor had asked for two consecutive five-year terms, the maximum sentence on the two charges.
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Now that Hanson has died, prosecutors will review the case for possible new charges against Hidanovic, said Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Mark Boening. He would not discuss what extra charges might be filed.
Manslaughter, or recklessly causing the death of another, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison in North Dakota.
That charge would be justifiable, Boland said.
"He (Hidanovic) killed him," she said. "It just took him a year to die."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Erin Hemme Froslie at (701) 241-5534 and Dave Forster at (701) 241-5538
