Fairfield girl recovering quickly after being run over

FAIRFIELD – A Fairfield girl has returned to school and is on the road to recovery after she was hit by a car in late August.

Seven-year-old Tran Nguyen Nguyen, who goes by the name Lisa, suffered serious injuries to her legs and hip on Aug. 31 when she was struck by a pick-up truck while attempting to cross Burlington Avenue at the intersection with Main Street. According to a surveillance video taken from the area and shown to The Union, the pickup driver was headed east, and after stopping at the red light, made a right turn onto Main Street striking Lisa, who had just entered the cross-walk on her bicycle and accompanied by her mother, father and brother.

The pick-up’s front and back tires rolled over Lisa. She was taken to Jefferson County Health Center by ambulance and then transported via helicopter to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. She was discharged from the hospital after five days, and began walking on her own after about two weeks.

Lisa attends Pence Elementary School, and the accident forced her to miss 10 days of school. Even though she was still recovering from her injuries, she insisted on going back to school. She told her parents that staying home was boring, and that she missed her classmates and her teacher, Mindy Hoskins.

When The Union caught up with Lisa on Sept. 27, she said her ability to walk was back to normal. Lisa’s parents, father Duy Nguyen and mother Hong Tran, said they’re shocked at how quickly their daughter has recovered from the collision. Their spirits are much higher now than they were a month ago.

“We were really scared when we saw the front wheel run over our daughter,” Duy said. “We panicked.”

Her mother said that when she saw her daughter lying motionless on the ground, she thought Lisa had died.

Now, a month after the incident, Lisa is in much better shape but not completely healed. Her father said a bone in Lisa’s leg is still bent, and she can’t hop on her right leg because that was the one most badly damaged. The family is also worried about what will happen with their large medical bills. They received a bill for $36,500 for the helicopter ride to Iowa City, and a bill for $80,000 for Lisa’s five-day stay at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The family said the driver of the pickup has accepted fault, but they’re not sure how much insurance will pay toward Lisa’s medical bills.

While Lisa was in the hospital, Lisa’s mother posted on Facebook that she was hoping to gather testimony from any eyewitnesses of the incident, and thanks to this post, one eyewitness came forward. The family hopes that their daughter’s ordeal will cause motorists to use greater caution, and pay special attention to pedestrians. They said perhaps it will spark a discussion about how that specific intersection could be made safer.

While the family waits to learn what will happen with those medical bills, Lisa is happy that her life has returned to normal and that she can see her classmates again, who missed her just as much as she missed them.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com