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'A miracle': Beachgoer recovering after having head run over at 'Go Topless' weekend, mother says

There were 18 crashes and more than 115 arrests during the Go Topless weekend.

GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas — A Texas City mother says her 21-year-old son fell out of the back of a truck and had his head run over on Saturday during Go Topless Weekend in Galveston County, according to KHOU's sister station KBMT.

Julie DeRanieri Busby said her son, Tanner Francis, was taken by air to UTMB and is currently in ICU with brain fractures, bleeding and swelling in his brain. 

Francis was one of six people to be airlifted from the event last weekend. 

A spokesperson for UTMB told KBMT the hospital had 19 level one trauma patients throughout the weekend. 

Busby says her son has a one-year-old child. Francis began responding to the family in the hospital by giving them a thumbs up.

Monday morning, he began responding by writing "my head hurts" on a white board, according to Busby.

EMS and law enforcement responded to more than 400 911 calls on Bolivar Peninsula alone during the weekend, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset confirmed.

The sheriff confirmed there were 18 crashes that resulted in injuries on the Peninsula from Saturday to early Sunday morning. 

The sheriff also said there were more than 115 arrests, dozens were alcohol related.

Sheriff Trochessett says he staffed deputies for the weekend as if it was the Fourth of July, because they were expecting it to be busy. 

The sheriff explained that he hadn't seen a crowd this size on Crystal Beach since the '90s.

Hundreds of people have signed an online petition calling for an end to the annual event. 

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