Community comes to teen's rescue after car accident
HOUGHTON -- It’s every parent's worst nightmare: a phone call saying your child was in an accident and is being rushed to the hospital.
For Valarie Juntunen, the call came last week after her 13-year-old son, Joey, was hit by a car near his Houghton school.
Joey knows he’s lucky to be alive. He was struck by a car as he tried to cross Gundlach Road near its busy intersection with Sharon Avenue last Monday. He suffered a seizure at the scene and spent a week in the hospital recovering from a severely broken right leg, a concussion and other scrapes and bruises.
"If the people in the cars hadn't seen me and stopped and got out to help, then I probably wouldn't be here right now,” said Joey. “Or if I was, I’d look a lot worse."
Corporal Daron Kari of the Houghton Police Department was one of the first officers on the scene.
"When I arrived, there were three people already giving him aid. It helped him and it’s a testament to our small community,” said Kari.
Corporal Kari also added that while this kind of accident is unusual to the area, it’s an important reminder to all students and drivers to be cautious.
“Students need to remember to stay in the crosswalks, and all drivers need to keep an eye out for students as they can be unpredictable,” Kari said.
Along with the police and passersby, Joey’s mom said people from Mercy EMS and Portage Health played a vital role in his initial recovery.
The family said they been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the school and the rest of the community since the accident.
"It’s amazing to live in this community,” said Juntunen. “Even people who weren't directly taking care of him; to everyone that helped, they'll always be my heroes."
The school has already made arrangements for Joey’s return. Instead of physical education, he’ll have physical therapy for his leg, and he’ll have plenty of help navigating the crowded hallways on crutches. He expects to be back in the classroom in the next couple of weeks.
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