House speaker: Top GOP lawmaker in critical condition

Indiana’s House speaker said Thursday a top-ranking Republican lawmaker is in critical condition after a motorcycle accident in Michigan.

House Speaker Brian Bosma said in a statement Thursday that House Ways and Means Chairman Tim Brown is in critical but stable condition and that “the next few days are going to be very important” for the lawmaker who has four daughters and lives with his wife, Jane, in Crawfordsville.

Bosma declined to comment Wednesday on Brown’s condition out of respect for his family.

Brown was taken to a Petoskey, Michigan, hospital on Wednesday after he was thrown from his motorcycle when an SUV pulled in front of him near northern Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge.

Brown was on a trip with fellow Republican Rep. Mike Speedy of Indianapolis, who wasn’t injured.

Brown, a retired emergency room physician, has served in the Legislature since 1994. Speedy said Wednesday that Brown was in a medically induced coma after the crash.

“It’s a classic scenario where a driver does not see a motorcyclist and pulls out in front of him,” Speedy said.

Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday said in a statement, “In addition to being a public servant and an extraordinary leader, Dr. Tim Brown is a fighter. Janet and I are praying for his recovery and ask Hoosiers across the state to join us.”

“Tim is an invaluable member of our leadership team, a dedicated public servant and one of my most cherished friends,” Bosma said in a written statement on Wednesday. “Our prayers are with him, his family and Rep. Speedy.”

“Dr. Brown is a remarkable man and beloved public servant, and I am very sad to hear the news that he has been involved in an accident,” Senate President Pro Tem David Long said in a statement. “I hope Hoosiers will join me in offering thoughts and prayers of healing for Tim and strength for his family during this difficult time.”