Accident Survivor Promotes Motorcycle Safety Awareness
By: Katie Crowther
Updated: March 14, 2013
(Rockford) -- Two years ago, KC Phengsomphone's life changed forever.
She was 15 years old and on her way to martial arts class with her dad, Rick. "[My parents] were originally supposed to just drop me off in the car," she says, "but it was a nice day out and...[he] decided to take me on the bike."
She was excited, since she wasn't allowed to ride with her dad on his motorcycle often. But, that excitement turned to dread as they signaled to turn off North Alpine road and noticed the car behind them.
"I noticed it wasn't stopping or slowing down or anything," KC recalls. "So, I turned around to tell my dad and the next thing I know, I was in the air."
Once KC landed on the pavement, the car slammed into the bike, lost control and ran her over.
"It felt like a grenade went off in my body," she remembers. "When I was laying there, I knew I couldn't move or anything when the car was coming."
Her mom, Melissa, got the call that every parent dreads and immediately headed for the hospital. "[They said] she had trauma to the chest, lung injuries, and bleeding in the brain," Melissa says.
Melissa was by her daughter's side as she spent a month in the intensive care unit at Rockford Memorial Hospital, and two months in a Chicago-area hospital.
Although KC beat the odds and survived, the doctors' prognosis wasn't good. KC says, "[They said] I wasn't going to walk again, [that] I was parapalegic."
With the help of physical therapy, she also beat that diagnosis... and today is fully functioning. Through the recovery process she missed a year of school at Harlem. But, she's making up for lost time by sharing her experiences with classes there, urging young drivers to be more aware.
According to the police report, the driver that hit KC was only 18 years old. She remembers seeing him on a cell phone.
KC's dad suffered third degree burns on his leg in the accident.
She was 15 years old and on her way to martial arts class with her dad, Rick. "[My parents] were originally supposed to just drop me off in the car," she says, "but it was a nice day out and...[he] decided to take me on the bike."
She was excited, since she wasn't allowed to ride with her dad on his motorcycle often. But, that excitement turned to dread as they signaled to turn off North Alpine road and noticed the car behind them.
"I noticed it wasn't stopping or slowing down or anything," KC recalls. "So, I turned around to tell my dad and the next thing I know, I was in the air."
Once KC landed on the pavement, the car slammed into the bike, lost control and ran her over.
"It felt like a grenade went off in my body," she remembers. "When I was laying there, I knew I couldn't move or anything when the car was coming."
Her mom, Melissa, got the call that every parent dreads and immediately headed for the hospital. "[They said] she had trauma to the chest, lung injuries, and bleeding in the brain," Melissa says.
Melissa was by her daughter's side as she spent a month in the intensive care unit at Rockford Memorial Hospital, and two months in a Chicago-area hospital.
Although KC beat the odds and survived, the doctors' prognosis wasn't good. KC says, "[They said] I wasn't going to walk again, [that] I was parapalegic."
With the help of physical therapy, she also beat that diagnosis... and today is fully functioning. Through the recovery process she missed a year of school at Harlem. But, she's making up for lost time by sharing her experiences with classes there, urging young drivers to be more aware.
According to the police report, the driver that hit KC was only 18 years old. She remembers seeing him on a cell phone.
KC's dad suffered third degree burns on his leg in the accident.
