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Injured teen's keeping in touch via computer Linkup with school lets Prospect youth study while he recuperates By Alex Breitler A Prospect teen injured in a car accident earlier this month is doing better, thanks in part to a rebuilt computer that connects him to the Internet. Justin Dean, who was seriously injured in a Jan. 7 crash on Highway 140 near Fish Lake, is recuperating at his grandparents' home in White City. His father, Ronald, and the man traveling with them, Lynn Hansen, were killed. To make sure he's able to keep up on classwork, Shady Cove school officials hooked Justin up with a computer he can use to access the Net and keep in touch with his classmates at Elk Trail School. "I'm known as somebody who, if you want to get rid of a computer, you come to me," said seventh- and eighth-grade teacher Priscilla Robinson. She spent last Saturday installing and networking the computer for Justin. Robinson hopes the computer can be used to help him keep in touch with his classmates, many of whom are friends. "Justin is a special kid _ they're all special kids," said Dan Johnson, Elk Trail principal. "We're trying to see what we can do to help him out." The computer was fixed up at Tech Toys in Shady Cove, and Internet access was donated by the network provider InternetCDS. Justin is also getting some good old-fashioned home tutoring from Robinson. "We knew after his accident he would have a hard time functioning (in a classroom environment)," she said. As for his physical condition, Justin's mother, Karen Dean, said her son is coming along fine, despite everything he's been through. His attitude is good, too, she added. "For the most part, he is (in good spirits)," she said. "It's still a little hard, but he's actually doing pretty darned good.'' Justin has six broken bones, including four breaks in his pelvis. It'll be another four weeks before he can start walking and a little longer than that before he'll really be able to get around, his mother said. He was airlifted to Rogue Valley Medical Center with internal injuries after the head-on accident. At the time of the crash, Justin was sleeping in the back of the minivan and didn't have a seat belt on. The accident also left the driver of the other car hospitalized. The day after the accident, Karen Dean traveled from her home in Edgewater, Colo., to be with her son. "We're all here taking care of him," she said. "We're just taking each thing at a time." Robinson, who's been Justin's teacher for several years, said she wants to help out however she can. "He's part of our family," she said. A memorial service for Ronald Dean is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Eagle Point National Cemetery. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA