BOONE COUNTY, Ind.–A teenage girl feared to have been killed in a crash on March 30 in Boone County is alive and recovering.
J.R. Shelton told the Boone County Sheriff’s Office that if it was “not for the hard-working staff at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis,” he believes his daughter, 17-year-old Mateline Shelton, would not be alive today.
J.R. said Mateline’s lungs had collapsed and had filled with fluids/blood. Once she arrived at St. Vincent, she had to have a lung bypass and get the excess blood and fluid removed from her body. Mateline also sustained a fractured collarbone. He feared his daughter had died upon arriving at the hospital.
She had to be placed on a ventilator, but she is no longer on the ventillator. Mateline is able to breathe on her own, but she still can’t speak.
Mateline is a sophomore at Western Boone High School.
The accident happened at the intersection of State Road 75 and State Road 32 when the driver of a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta turned in front of a 2002 GMC Yukon SUV “for an unknown reason”, which resulted in the collision. It is still under investigation.
“We here at the BCSO, along with Mr. Shelton, believe this to being nothing short of a miracle. With that being said, we ask that you continue to hold Mateline and her family up in your prayers as they continue to press on to a full recovery,” said Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen.
