PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – A 16-year-old student from Rutherford High School has been in the PICU for the last 10 days after she was involved in a car accident on May 13.
Her mother Heather Turner said she will never forget the night she got the phone call. The accident happened around 2:30 a.m.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, several teenagers were in a car on Coleridge Road. Troopers said the river reported he was traveling over the posted speed limit and had to turn right into a sharp curve.
The driver told troopers the left passenger was outside the car either sitting on the edge of the window or leaning over the window edge and fell out of the vehicle.
That passenger was Heather’s daughter Jody.
“I received a call from Bay County Sheriff’s Office that my daughter Jody had been in an accident in a car accident. So at that point. I rushed to Bay Medical and we waited for what seemed like hours for her to get there,” Heather said.
Heather said EMS had to intubate Joody at the scene of the crash.
“She was having trouble holding her respirations and she was vomiting profusely. So then when she arrived, the medical team started working with her and a couple of hours later, we were sent to Pensacola,” Heather said.
The family has been in Pensacola since May 13th. Heather said her daughter was most likely not wearing a seatbelt when she was thrown out of the car.
“These teenagers that were involved in this accident had no idea what was about to happen. It could have happened to any one of those children in that car. And to see my baby laying there like that, it has been. Roller coasters and traumatizing,” Heather said.
Heather said her daughter had a 5mm brain bleed, and Jody will have a long road to recovery.
“We were just told just a little bit ago that she will have to have extensive rehab and like you know, Jacksonville or somewhere far off. We’re not even sure that you know that’s going to be. But whatever it takes to get her to recover that’s what we’ll do,” Heather said.
A family friend has created a fundraiser to help the family with all of their medical expenses by selling t-shirts.
“It started out with just a post on Facebook. They would reach out to me and tell me, hey, I’m interested in buying a shirt for Jody. They spend the money, I put them on the list. I’m actually in the process of making them and getting them sent out now,” Amber Decker-Bane, a family friend said.
Amber lives in Alabama but said she will travel to meet up with those interested in purchasing a shirt. To buy one message Amber on Facebook. The deadline to purchase a shirt is May 29.
The family said they’re thankful for the support given by the community. They are asking people to continue to keep Jody in their thoughts and prayers.
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