LEXINGTON, S.C. — A Midlands principal and his family injured in a car crash in Hawaii were greeted by hundreds of well-wishers as they returned home after a weeks-long ordeal.
Hundreds showed up at River Bluff High School in Lexington Friday to welcome back Principal Jacob Smith and his family, including Smith's daughter, Bekah, who sustained the most severe injuries in the crash. A line of people gathered along Highway 378 in Lexington County, at the school, and eventually at the family's home to waive at them and show their support.
Bekah was seated in the front passenger seat of the family's vehicle as it drove along the route from Corley Mill Road to the family's house, and while she was wearing a neck brace, she was able to waive back at those who came out.
"I'm a little tired but I'm good," Bekah said once she got to her house. "It's sweet to see my best friends, I missed seeing them, my neighbors. Definitely overwhelming. It feels like a dream. All of this to me has felt like a dream. This is just just another piece of that for me."
Jacob Smith and his family were on vacation in Hawaii in late June when their SUV hydroplaned and collided with another vehicle. Smith and his wife sustained injuries, and their three children were hospitalized. While one son did have to have surgery for his injuries, Bekah, his teenage daughter, was hurt the worst, suffering a vertebral fracture and a brain injury. Those injuries left her in critical condition.
Family and friends created a page on CaringBridge. This blog site allows users to share medical updates with a larger group of people, and it's been giving regular news on her recovery. She had to have surgeries and other procedures, and on July 4, her breathing tube was finally removed.
On July 14, Bekah was transported by air ambulance to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a treatment center specializing in brain injuries. But she was finally discharged and allowed to come home Friday but will return for an outpatient program next week.