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March 28, 2008

‘She may never be the same person’

Sister of Murchison woman injured in wreck says family devastated; official police report yet to be completed

By Jayson Larson

Carol Adams says her sister, Christy, is a beautiful woman.

It’s just so hard to see as she lays in a hospital bed at East Texas Medical Center Tyler in a medically induced coma, bruised and broken with injuries, literally, from head to toe.

Christy suffered life-threatening injuries in a head-on collision in the early morning hours of March 23. She and a friend, Franklin Pinkerton, were headed to a card game when the wreck happened on Loop 7 near East Texas Medical Center Athens and the intersection of State Highway 19 south.

According to police reports, Christy was driving a 1996 Plymouth Voyager that was hit head-on by a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban driven by Kenneth Dwayne “Pete” Cooper, 47, of Athens. Cooper is an owner of Cooper Funeral Home of Athens.

Reports say Cooper’s Suburban entered the westbound lane. Adams attempted to take evasive action but could not avoid the oncoming vehicle. The collision happened around 1:40 a.m. Further details have not been available as the Texas Department of Public Safety continues its investigation.

Pinkerton, a 50-year-old Florida resident, has been released from the hospital, and Cooper’s status is unknown. On Sunday, he was listed in fair condition in the intensive care unit at East Texas Medical Center Tyler. His family has since requested no information on his condition be released to the public.

Christy — who was taken to the hospital by helicopter — is still fighting for her life, Carol said, in a room very close to where Cooper is being treated. She added that a doctor has told family members he hasn’t seen anyone with the extent of Christy’s injuries live as long as she has.

Among her injuries, she has a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, a fractured sternum, multiple compound fractures, a perforated bowel, broken ribs and a broken pelvis.

“She even has stitches in her toes,” Carol told the Athens Review Thursday. “You should see my sister. Her whole face ... she’s bruised from head to toe. It’s horrible.”

Carol said Christy, a 40-year-old Murchison resident, was preparing to re-enter the working world after taking time off from her job in the medical field to take care of her three grandchildren — ages seven months, two and three. Those children are now in the care of their great-grandmother.

Family members have kept a constant vigil at Christy’s bedside, Carol said. Those family members are anxiously awaiting more information that may be included in the final findings of their investigation.

In the meantime, they are waiting to see if Christy can find a way to survive.

“Every day is a miracle she is still alive,” Carol said. “She may never be the same person. We’re afraid she’s never going to be the same.”

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