Accident Update

Jordan is back at his house in California recovering. Although all of his injuries turned out to be below his knee they put him in a full leg cast (with pins) to help stabilize it. In 10 days they will cut it down to a half cast. He is already working with PT to learn how to walk on crutches.

His friend, Lacey, is still in the hospital in a medically induced coma to attempt to reduce the swelling on her brain. We are not able to get much information regarding her recovery since we are not family. Everything I have heard has either been from Jordan or his mom. The fact that she is still fighting is a really good sign. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family. Hopefully I will have good news to report soon.

Here is the newspaper report from the accident

From the Benicia Herald:

A van that stuck 2 Benicia teenagers Thursday night hurled one victim 30 feet before she struck the pavement with her head, one witness describing the accident said.

"There was blood everywhere," said Patricia Callahan of Vallejo, who had seen the teens at a downtown restaurant less then an hour earlier. "Her eyes were dilated. We were trying to talk to her, telling her to stay with us."

The 15 year old girl is identified by police as Lacey Wilson, and two companions had been crossing Military West at the West Second Street intersection about 8:20 pm when a westbound 1997 Ford A 14 year old Jordan Hebert, according to information released Friday by Benicia police.

Natalie Follette, a Benicia resident who was on West Second Street before trying to make a left turn onto Military West, said that when Wilson was hit, she rolled onto the vans wind shield before hitting the street.

"The other kid got clipped," Follette said. Hebert was spun before falling to the pavement, she said. As soon as she saw the accident, she ran to the nearby Benicia Fire Station for help.

Both injured teens were taken by separate ambulances to the trauma center at John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek, police said.

Wilson's condition was described Friday as critical after she suffered serious injuries, according to a Benicia Fire Department statement that also listed Hebert's condition as stable with moderate injuries.

The third youth, who some witnesses said had preceded his friends into the crosswalk, was not hit, the police news release said.

The intersection was shut down for many hours to let a specialized traffic unit investigated the accident, Benicia police Lt. Mike Daley said.

The van that struck the teens was being driven by a 49 year old Benicia resident Bruce Ricketts, Daley said, adding Ricketts showed no signs of any impairment, and he gave a voluntary blood sample.

Ricketts was visibly shaken by the accident, Callahan said. "The driver was hysterical." Another witness, Natalia Isabel Lykkeberg, said, "He was bawling. He kept saying, 'I couldn't see, I couldn't see.'

All said glaring sunlight may have led to the collision, but speed was not a factor.

"The sun was in our eyes," Callahan said. "The sun hits your eyes that time of day, and you can't see. They should look at the number of accidents that happen there and put in a stoplight." The collision, she said, "was a total accident."

"That spot is notoriously nasty," Follette agreed. "I'm 100 percent sure it was the sun...I feel very bad for the (driver)."

Lykkeberg, who owns Isabel's Gifts downtown, had driven away from the Tannery Building and had turned onto Military West. She said the line of vehicles had stopped for a light. After the light turned green, had begun traveling at between 10 and 15 mph.

She saw brake lights come on. "And in a split second, I heard somebody screaming." The first voice she heard may be been Hebert's. "Then a woman was running on the left side, screaming, 'Call 9-1-1!'"

Lykkeberg, who has worked in operating rooms and has been a medical assistant, parked her car at the nearby Chevron station and checked on Hebert, who was lying on his side in the street.

"He was screaming. He was in a lot of pain. Thank God the fire department was right there." She checked his pulse and warned others not to touch the boy, since she worried he might have suffered serious fractures.

Then she saw Wilson 20 feet away, also lying on her side. "She was hurt, like in shock, and unresponsive." Like Callahan, she kept speaking to Wilson to try to keep her conscious.

Lkkeberg said she saw bicycles she believes belonged to the teens, and noticed none was wearing helmets. "I'm not sure if they were riding the bicycles or walking them." Other witnesses said the teens didn't have bicycles.

Ironically, Callahan had seen the victims and some of their friends earlier that afternoon at Frankenburger's after she had shopped at the Farmers Market. "They were happy, not loud," she said.

But 45 minutes later, while she was driving, traffic slowed to 5 miles per hour, and she rolled down her window to see what was happening.

"I heard screaming," she said. "The boy and girl had been hit. She was thrown 30 feet. It was horrible."