Buckle Up For Chi

Chi Cheng died after he was involved in a car accident in late 2008 in which he was not wearing a seat belt. The accident left him in a coma on life support for a few days after the accident. After surgery to replace part of his skull flap that had been removed early in his hospitalization to help reduce swelling caused by the accident Chi showed slow improvement and was able to be upgraded to being in a semi conscious state. He was then able to open his eyes and track movement around the room. He was also able to eventually gain movement in his hands, make vocal sounds and to move his legs on command. His progress was not without setbacks though as he was in and out of the hospital with infections.^[2][3][4] Throughout this time his family and friends kept a wider group of supporters and the general public updated through oneloveforchi.com with the latest news and fundraising efforts to help pay the medical bills.^[5] Chi's health insurance refused to pay for most of the treatments. Chi's mother Jeanne Cheng posted the news of Chi's death by heart failure on oneloveforchi.com on April 13, 2013.^[5] Chi left behind his mother, a brother, a sister, his son and his former wife. He also left behind a fan base who cherished him as a Grammy winning bass player and spoken word poet.^[6]

Buckle Up for Chi is a volunteer-run organization, and the single vision and mission of the organization is to promote safety belt awareness.^[1] The Buckle Up for Chi website has many different features that can appeal to a wide variety of viewers such as photos, fan art, merchandise and a blog.^[1]