Update: Portland Actor Tony Reilly Recovering from Injuries Sustained in Car Accident

BroadwayWorld previously reported that Portland, Maine actor Tony Reilly was in a medically-induced coma after sustaining several injuries in a motor vehicle accident last week which killed his wife. Friends of Reilly say he is still in recovery.

"Tony is becoming more alert," says the Reillys' friend Kathe Mull. "He is still on a ventilator that is supporting his breathing and removing fluid from his lungs. His left leg was amputated below the knee. He has had multiple surgeries on his right leg which seems to be slowly healing. As of Thursday, January 1st, he was still heavily sedated; he has not been able to speak.

"When the accident happened a trauma surgeon was several cars behind. With help, he was able to pull Tony from the car and move him 100 feet from the site. He placed a tourniquet on his leg; probably saving his life.

"Tony faces more surgeries and lengthy physical therapy. And he does not yet know of Susan's death."

Mull has also created a "YouCaring" site for Tony Reilly in which friends and supporters may donate money to aid Reilly in his medical bills. Click here to visit the site.

According to reports, Reilly, 60, is currently in a Massachusetts hospital. Doctors operated on his right leg on Friday and later amputated his left leg below the knee. Other injuries include broken ribs, and facial fracutres.

Tony and Susan Reilly, were in a three-vehicle car accident on the Massachusetts Turnpike at 1:40pm on Dec. 23, near Charlton while traveling from Portland to visit New York family members for the holidays. The Reillys' car was hit by a tractor-trailer.

Susan Reilly, 64, was declared dead in UMass Memorial Hospital in Worchester.

The Reillys founded and ran the American Irish Repertory Ensemble (AIRE) in Portland. They also appeared in productions by different theatre companies around the area.

"For the time being, so many of us feel utterly impotent, wanting to take Tony's pain from him, not being able to do anything substantive," said Christine Louise Marshall, artistic director at Mad Horse Theatre in Maine. "Most of all, we are so very sorry about Susan. We all loved her so, so much, as an artist and a friend, and we are committed to doing all we can to ease Tony's grief."

As of yet, there are no memorial service plans, but Marshall expects plans will progress as Reilly continues to recover.

"What we are focusing most at this moment as a community is support - what will he need going forward, how can we get behind him?" Marshall said. "We are more than a theater community. We are a family. We are all at the ready, waiting to do anything that will help."

Source: Portland Press Herald

Photo credit: Good Theater

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