MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – A 34-year-old Madison man remains hospitalized with serious injuries after a suspected drunk driver struck him while he was shoveling snow for work Monday.
Among other injuries, Matthew Balch suffered broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a traumatic brain injury when a car driving on South Park Street lost control, hit a power pole and crashed into him. The 53-year-old driver was cited for driving under the influence.
The crash left Balch fighting for his life.
“I fell to the floor crying, he’s like my best friend,” Kateri Gehling said. “Just the fact that he had to have emergency brain surgery immediately was really scary to hear.”
Among other injuries, Matthew Balch suffered broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a traumatic brain injury when a car driving on South Park Street lost control, hit a power pole and crashed into him.(WMTV)
Now, his friends are stepping in to help, setting up a GoFundMe to support him as he recovers.
“He’d do anything for anyone and that’s why we’re here doing it for him you know,” Collin Switzky, who started the GoFundMe, said.
Balch is currently in the ICU at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital. He will be transferred to a brain rehabilitation center. Gehling said she hopes money raised from the GoFundMe will allow him to focus on recovering.
“He is just the best dude,” Gehling said. “He really is. He makes me laugh every day. He makes everyone laugh.”
Balch is an avid disc golf player.(WMTV)
The disc golf community, where Balch is an active player, is also organizing support efforts.
Mike Batka, who owns Glide Disc Golf in Madison, has known Balch for more than 15 years and wanted to step in to help.
“Any time you have some sort of like niche activity, whether it’s the biking community in Madison or in this case disc golf, when one of your own is in a time of need, you know, this is when we want to rally around, step up and try to help him out.”
Batka is hosting a disc golf fundraiser on Saturday with 100% of the proceeds going towards Balch. Registration runs from 10 a.m. to noon at Glide Disc Golf before the event moves to Hiestand Park.
“People who are avid players, recreational players, even people who don’t disc golf and want to come out and support, we’re hoping they come out,” Batka said.
The cost to play is $10 per person.
“If there’s something we can do to alleviate some of that stress, some of that pressure, some of that reality,” Batka said. “That’s something we can do, and if everyone in the community chips in just a little bit, you can make a big difference.”
Click here to download the WMTV15 News app or our WMTV15 First Alert weather app.
Copyright 2026 WMTV. All rights reserved.
