LAKE COUNTY — Jacquelyn Newton, 10, of Seaside, is on the mend at UC Davis Medical Center, according to her father and the hospital”s spokesperson, after she was injured in a hit-and-run accident at Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa July 19.
“It”s going to be a while before she”ll be back to normal. She”s a tough little girl,” her father James Newton said Thursday from the family”s Seaside home as he and his wife were getting some clothes for the girl before heading back up to Sacramento, where they have been since the incident.
“The last couple of days have been better. She would be going along doing good, then take a turn for the worse, and now everything is good again. I thought I lost her,” he said.
He said she is anxious to get back to school and resume her cheerleading activities.
James Newton said he and his wife and three daughters were staying at Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa as they do every year for a traditional family reunion.
The 10-year-old was crossing a roadway on the resort property in an area where hotel guests are housed below Dancing Springs Spa when Kelseyville resident Dennis Elsworth Olson, 35, allegedly hit her with his 1995 GMC truck, according to the California Highway Patrol.
“He hit her just about everywhere you could hit her,” James Newton said.
The girl”s injuries included a partially collapsed lung, broken leg, cracked bones in her right hip and foot, cracked ribs, a cracked sternum and lacerations in her liver and spleen, according to her father. She was flown by REACH helicopter to UC Davis Medical Center, where she remains on the pediatric floor. James Newton said he hasn”t been told when he can expect to have his daughter home.
“She took four steps today. Other than that, I don”t know how long it”s going to take. She still has a tube in chest for her lung,” James Newton said.
Jacqueline Newton”s condition was upgraded Friday to “good,” according to UC Davis Medical Center spokesperson Sandy Sagen. The girl”s condition was “fair” on Thursday, meaning her vital signs were stable and within normal limits, she was conscious with possible discomfort, and indicators were favorable. The upgrade meant she was comfortable and indicators were excellent, according to Sagen.
Olson was arrested on felony charges of hit and run, DUI causing injury and DUI with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more. He posted $10,000 bail and was released Saturday morning, according to Lake County Jail staff.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
