Boy in DWI crash released from hospital: District attorney, DSS notified
BELWOOD — The 7-year-old boy seriously injured Thursday in a crash where his father was allegedly drinking and driving has been released from the hospital.
Gary Wilkins Jr. was discharged from Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after a closed-head injury left the child in a medically induced coma. Sgt. Doug Amos with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said an unsecured toolbox struck the 7-year-old in the head when his father, Gary Wilkins Sr. of Belwood, ran off the road in Burke County and crashed his car into a tree.
“We’re just glad he’s out (of the hospital),” Amos said Tuesday, adding that rescue workers who airlifted Wilkins Jr. to the hospital were seriously concerned for the child’s health. “They didn’t think he was going to live.”
Wilkins was allegedly driving north along Mineral Springs Mountain Road in Burke County when he lost control of his 1991 Acura, Amos said. Wilkins Sr., wife Maria Christine Hodges, 30, daughter Cassie Maria Wilkins, 11, and passenger Candido Maisohet, 30, of Belwood, were treated Thursday night at Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory and released.
Now, Burke County’s District Attorney’s Office and Department of Social Services are involved in how the case proceeds, Amos said. Wilkins Sr. was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving while license revoked. His wife was charged with aiding and abetting DWI and aiding and abetting driving while license revoked. No additional charges have been filed since the crash, Amos said.
The Cleveland County Clerk of Court had no record Tuesday of any criminal charges pending against Wilkins.
Wilkins Sr.’s level of impairment at the time of the crash won’t be available for several weeks as troopers await the results of blood taken from the man at the scene of the crash. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation crime lab is processing the results, Amos said.
Reach reporter Jordan-Ashley Baker at 704-669-3332.
Brain Injury Coma - News
Gary Wilkins Jr. was discharged from Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after a closed-head injury left the child in a medically induced coma. Sgt. Doug Amos with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said an unsecured toolbox struck the
She sustained a brain injury, a broken right arm, a laceration through her stomach, broken vertebrae, broken legs, shattered kneecaps, and a right leg amputated below the knee. On Tuesday morning, Schepps woke up from the medically induced coma and
"In addition to her brain injury, she has a perforated stomach, which makes her case more complicated," he added. Although Zhang has spent much of the last few days standing at the entrance of the ICU, anxiously waiting for doctors with news,
"William will have to live with his brain injury. "A month in prison might have made him appreciate the consequences of his actions." Marshall, from North Newbald, lost control of the car, which was travelling within the 60mph speed limit,
A Canterbury High School basketball star who suffered a serious head injury in a plane crash Friday in northwest Michigan remained in a medically induced coma Sunday, with hospital staff monitoring the pressure on his brain, his coach, Dan Kline, said.
Brain Injury Coma | Diabetes, It's Resources
A coma is basically an unconscious state in which the patient does not respond to most stimuli and appears actually to be asleep. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines a coma as “a profound or deep state of unconsciousness.” Some of the most common causes of coma are: traumatic brain injury, diabetes (hypoglycemic coma), lack of oxygen, hemorrhage, infection, and stroke. A brain injury coma can occur when a person is hit in the head with a heavy object, is in an automobile accident, suffers a penetrating head injury such as a gunshot wound or falls a good distance and hits their head. Any person who is unconscious after such an incident should go to the hospital immediately.
Physicians apply various factors to diagnose brain injury coma. One of the first examinations done is a neurological examination which consists of testing the patient’s pupil size and reaction time. They also test the patient’s reflexes thereby starting to gain an understanding of which area of the brain might have been injured. The next step in the neurological examination is the applying a consciousness scale such as the Glasgow Coma Scale from which physicians can start to determine a patient’s prognosis. Of course, X rays, CT scans and MRI scans will be used to determine the location in the brain of the most damage.
A comatose patient is prone to certain complications from being immobile such as bedsores and muscle atrophy. Someone with a brain injury coma needs to be constantly monitored to determine if they have fallen into a persistent vegetative state, therefore having a lowered chance of recovery. This is the point at which good rehabilitative services are necessary. Physicians will also be observing for brain swelling or fluid in the brain which they may be able to relieve in order to help the brain heal.
Having a family member or close friend in a coma is very stressful. The whole medical treatment and discussion is clouded with uncertainty. There is no surety that your family member will ever recover or how full that recovery would be. At a time like this, there are financial considerations, medical bills and everyday support and you need to turn somewhere for help and advice. The Catastrophic Injury Recovery Center was established for the very purpose of helping people who have family members suffering from comatose injury. They can point you toward community resources and give you the best expert legal advice regarding steps to take to get compensation for your loved one and your family. It is not unlikely that the incident that caused the brain injury coma had some fault attached to it and our staff can help determine the proper steps to take to get what you may be entitled to.
I overdosed on heroin, and went into a coma, and stayed in it for ten days. I sufferered a brain injury. I now use a wheelchair. Hey Kids!
what if he goes in a coma, gets drunk,has a brain injury, doesnt have a calendar? anything could make him forget his birthday
After a night long coma, my Macbook seems to have survived its concussion with no sign of brain injury.
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