Teenager, 16, wakes from a coma NINE MONTHS after he was pushed into traffic while skateboarding
>
Teen, 16, wakes up from coma NINE MONTHS after being ‘pushed into traffic by a group of youths’ while skateboarding: boy now relearns simple tasks like walking and opening his eyes
- Angel Figueroa, 16, awoke from a coma about nine months after being hit by a Tesla after an altercation with a ‘group of young people’
- Figueroa was on his way home from school in Hemet, California, when he got into a physical altercation over his skateboard on Feb. 28.
- His aunt said he has regained consciousness and can move the left side of his body but is not yet communicating
- Four teenagers were previously arrested in connection with the incident. The pusher was sentenced to six months in juvenile detention
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
A teenager awoke nine months after being pushed out of a coma after an altercation with ‘youths’ over his skateboard in oncoming traffic.
Angel Figueroa, 16, was riding his skateboard home from school in Hemet, California, on Feb. 28 when he was hit by a Tesla after a “group of young people” pushed him into the street at Stetson Avenue and Seven Hills Drive. The teens fled, but were later arrested.
Figueroa recently regained consciousness and is able to move the left side of his body after suffering head and brain injuries and undergoing surgery, Belki Brizuela, the boy’s aunt, wrote on a GoFundMe page.
“Not fully reacting or communicating with us, but making small movements gives us a sign of hope,” Brizuela told KNBC. “There’s hope he’ll get out of here.”
Brizuela posted a video to social media of Figueroa stretching his leg and a nurse celebrating his achievement.
In March, four teenagers were arrested in connection with the crime. Three were 15 years old and one was 16 years old. The teen who pushed Figueroa was jailed for six months while the others were sentenced to house arrest.
The Tesla driver had not been charged at the time. Figueroa’s skateboard has not been recovered.
Angel Figueroa, 16, awoke from a coma about nine months after being hit by a Tesla after an altercation with a “group of young people.” In the photo: Figueroa before the accident
Figueroa was on his way home from school in Hemet, California, when he got into a fight over his skateboard on Feb. 28. In the photo: Figueroa shortly after the accident
Figueroa’s aunt posted a video on social media of him stretching his leg and a nurse celebrating his achievement
Figueroa was thrown into the street and the teens fled. His skateboard was never found
Brizuela had launched a GoFundMe fundraiser earlier this year to help cover Figueroa’s medical bills. Over $32,000 was raised and the fundraiser closed.
Now Brizuela has launched another fundraiser to buy a van in which Figueroa can travel along with his medical equipment and pay medical bills.
Please keep praying it works. I have faith and hope that he becomes our miracle baby and makes a full recovery,” Brizuela wrote.
By Tuesday afternoon, nearly $42,000 was raised for Figueroa’s van and hospital bills.
On the day of the incident, Figueroa’s father tried to reach him after he failed to come home from school. A hospital worker had picked up the 16-year-old’s phone and urged the father to immediately go to the emergency room.
“I couldn’t recognize him, he was so swollen,” Brizuela told KNBC. “And bruises and cuts everywhere… I can’t help it. Why? You know, what was the reason for doing that, you know?’
Brizuela also called the teen’s punishment for shoving her cousin “a slap on the wrist.”
His aunt said he has regained consciousness and can move the left side of his body but is not yet communicating
His family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover his hospital bills and buy a van to use when he is released from the hospital
Figueroa had part of his skull removed and is currently recovering in the Orange County hospital.
His family is optimistic that the 16-year-old will make a full recovery and eventually be able to drive.
“Teach your kids, like, it’s not fun and games, you know? It’s not a joke when you go out with your friends. Every decision you make has consequences,” Brizuela told KAABC.