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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend August 26, 2006 Jeffery Summerhays, 19, is lucky to be alive after being hit by a car while riding a bike last December. The emotional trauma that remains with him makes crossing the street a challenge. (Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli) 'They all might hit me' Man still feels effects from December accident By chris conrad Mail Tribune Nine months after an accident in front of South Medford High School that left him broken and near death, Jeffery Summerhays still has nightmares. He's riding his bicycle when a car swoops in from out of nowhere and plows into him. He wakes right as his head smashes through the windshield. The psychological and emotional scars run deeper than those etched in his face and limbs. He's still a bit gun shy crossing the street. Each car that zooms by is a potential threat. "I think I have to cross the street as fast as I can," he said. "It's like they all might hit me." The last thing Summerhays, 19, remembers of Dec. 15 was dropping off his mother's lunch at the Rogue Valley Mall. Twenty minutes later, as he was cruising up J Street on a borrowed bicycle to meet his girlfriend at South, he darted in front of a car. The crash was later ruled a "no-fault" accident. Advertisement The impact pitched him forward into the windshield, where the right side of his face was nearly ripped away by a wiper blade. He also suffered a shattered shoulder joint, broken upper arm, broken legs, punctured lung and a tiny skull fracture. And that was before a potentially fatal staph infection and pneumonia set in at the hospital. He was put in a medically induced coma for three weeks to allow his system to heal. It took 135 stitches in his face, 16 pins (10 in his shoulder and 6 in his legs, four rods (one in his arm and three in his legs), a plate in his shoulder, major plastic surgery and $414,000 in medical bills to piece him together. "The ultrasound in his shoulder looks like a hairbrush," said his mother, Pam Grober. The girl who was driving the car was shaken by the ordeal and visited the hospital seeking check-ups on Summerhays' condition several times, Grober said. It took him a month to harness the courage to look at his stitched-up face the first time, he said. "When I saw it, I was pretty shook up." People stare at him now. It bothers him that they may think he's different. "But I'm not," he said. "I've got scars, but eventually they'll fade away." Things are looking up now. He can now lift his arm level with his head. His permanent limp is not as pronounced now that his legs have recovered from the damage to his tendons. A small victory came when the balls of his feet touched the ground for the first time. Brain trauma has left him with recurring seizures, which preclude him from driving. That combined with his physical restrictions make it tough to find a job. He does have an interview on Monday, which he's excited about. And though he has lost touch with several of his friends over the past nine months, he plans to marry the girl he was going to see the day his life changed. "She was there the entire time," he said. "She saw me a little while after the accident, laying there on the road. She's still a little traumatized by it." The couple plan to wed in December. As for the bicycle, he regrets that he had borrowed it from his neighbor before the crash. "He didn't care about the bike," Summerhays said. "He told me it's nothing but pieces that can be put back together." Reach reporter Chris Conrad at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] . Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Texas Electric Choice Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews