Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s father’s health has improved after a tragic boating accident

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick posted a heartfelt letter about his parents on Thursday after he lost his mother, Bonnie Kalanick, in a tragic boating accident last weekend. His father was in critical condition after the crash, but Kalanick wrote today that his health has improved in the last two days.

In his post, Kalanick reflected on the kind of person his mother was, saying “she was a lover. She wore her heart on her sleeves — yes, both of them — and when she walked into a room, her warmth, her smile and her joy would instantly fill it.”

Kalanick also added more details on what happened during the horrendous accident that took his mother’s life.

... My Mom asked my Dad to take over driving, a switch I’ve seen them do dozens of times before. But this time before they switched, our family dog got in the way, and the wheel turned sharply to the right. My Dad, seeing the boat heading straight for the rocks, swung the steering wheel back, but it was too late. The boat hit the rocks. My seventy-eight year old Dad was thrown into a deep eddy, badly injured with five broken ribs, a broken vertebrae, a broken leg and a collapsed lung. My Mom, still in the boat, unconscious, had most likely died immediately from the impact.

My Dad swam back to get her as the boat quickly sank. He wrapped her with the life jackets and cushions that were floating where the boat once was. For almost two hours he tried swimming out of the cold current, holding her, eventually getting to the shore. Boats drove by but didn’t see them. Eventually a fisherman found them. My Dad had tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but she was gone.

Read his full post here:

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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