Lawrence Co. student’s recovery is ‘miraculous’ after suffering traumatic brain injury in crash on 17th birthday
The family alleges the driver that hit the high school student head-on was driving impaired and is suing.
LAWRENCE CO., Tenn. (WSMV) - The family of a Lawrence County High School junior is suing a driver who smashed into their son’s car head-on while he was driving to his 17th birthday dinner.
That lawsuit alleges the man driving the Chevrolet Silverado that collided with 17-year-old Tristan Perry’s car was driving under the influence.
Paige Caperton, Tristan’s mom, said her world was turned upside down on October 9. She was waiting at the restaurant for Tristan and her husband to arrive for his birthday dinner when her husband called her and said there had been a wreck.
“I’ll never get that voice out of my head, the way my husband sounded,” Caperton said. “He was screaming at the top of his lungs, and he’s the one that doesn’t get very upset with things. He stays calm.”
Tristan had been in a serious car accident just minutes from the family’s home. Caperton said a man driving a Silverado crossed the double yellow line on Henryville Road and collided with Tristan. Tristan was airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville with internal injuries and bleeding. The truck driver was airlifted to Skyline Medical Center.
“[Tristan] broke several bones and had lacerations in his spleen and liver,” Caperton said, ”but none of it required surgery -- none of it.”
Tristan also suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for weeks. The family was eventually transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where Tristan’s remarkable recovery began.
“As soon as we got here, the therapy started the next day, getting him up. He woke up. It’s amazing,” Caperton said. “It is so amazing how now he can tell you how old he is, his name, where he’s from. He can tell you everything. This place is amazing.”
The Lawrence County community has rallied around the family, with the high school marking Tristan’s classes as incomplete so he can graduate on time. About 300 people attended a prayer vigil at the school for Tristan. Some of his classmates even decorated a homecoming float in his honor.
While she said Tristan does not remember the accident, his mother said he survived it for a reason. “He has a purpose. That’s the only way to describe it,” Caperton said. “He’s a miracle.”
As the family awaits justice for the crash, Caperton has a message for other families: “Hold your babies tight, and spend as much time with your family as you can.”
Caperton hopes Tristan will be discharged from Shepherd Center in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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