A Georgia high school point guard suffered life threatening injuries when he was struck by a car outside his high school.
As reported by Atlanta CBS affiliate WSB, Malik Spellman, the point guard for Wheeler (Ga.) High School, was struck by a car just outside the school nearly three weeks ago. After three weeks in critical and intensive care in a hospital, he has now been brought home to continue his recovery.
The devastating injuries suffered in the incident could keep Spellman from attending college, per his parents. At the very least, the accident has all but crushed Spellman’s dreams of competing in Division I college basketball.
Spellman and a fellow teen were struck by a 73-year-old driver as the pair were in a legal crosswalk. The fact they were struck in a crosswalk has inspired Spellman family lawyer Robert Williams to question why the driver, Nancy Valentine, has avoided all charges.
“To hit someone that’s directly in front of your vehicle at that rate of speed without tapping your brakes, you had to be doing something wrong,” attorney Robert Williams told WSB. “We have to be conscious about driving. We can’t text and drive. We can’t look away.”
Even punishment for Valentine would likely come as relative cold comfort for the Spellman family, which continues to try to piece together a life that has been shattered by a single moment.
The Wheeler community has established a GoFundMe account to help defray the cost of Spellman’s ongoing medical expenses. It has raised nearly $12,000 out of a $25,000 goal through its first two weeks.
