Tallahassee,FL : Woman hit by car wakes from coma in 'unbelievable' recovery on September, Wednesday 6th 2017

When Robin Goldy picked up the phone last month, she was told her only daughter was lying in a coma, hospitalized following a serious crash, and that she likely wouldn't pull through.

So she packed her bags, rushing to jump on a plane from Florida to New Jersey, where she planned to say goodbye to her 29-year-old daughter, Savanna Gentile.

But Gentile did make it through that night, and just over two weeks later, she opened her eyes. Since, she's been "chatting up a storm," Goldy said.

Savanna-Gentile-before.jpgA photo of Savanna Gentile before the August 3 crash. Photo provided
"It was an unbelievable feeling," she said. "She wasn't supposed to survive any of it. The fight she has to live is unbelievable."

Gentile was struck by a car near the intersection of Sunset Road and Classic Drive, right by her home. Police said she was standing in the roadway at night when a driver with a suspended license hit her.

On Friday, police charged the driver, 20-year-old Brittany Saar, with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and causing serious bodily injury.

Witnesses have said Gentile was having an argument with a someone when she was struck, and that she wasn't simply standing in the road. She doesn't know who that might be, and police did not encounter anyone other than Saar and witnesses at the scene.

Goldy said that Gentile has struggled with mental health and is diagnosed as bipolar, which could have made her behavior erratic during the disagreement.

Gentile also had a drug problem as well, but had recently been clean, Goldy said.

"It wasn't her fault that this happened," she said.

Since the crash 33 days ago, Gentile has had four surgeries. Every bone in her face was broken, and her pelvis and legs sustained fractures as well. She's still paralyzed in her right arm, and can't eat solid food yet.

This isn't the first tragedy to hit the family. Gentile's father was killed when he was hit by a car, Goldy said.

"My daughter's a really good person," Goldy said. "She's had a drug problem, but she has 13-year old-beautiful girl. She's a great person. Stuff happens to people in their lives."

"When she got out of jail this last time she was clean for a long time," she added.

Doctors don't yet know the full extent of Gentile's injuries, but have said that she's sustained permanent brain damage, Goldy said. It's too early to tell what her mental age might be, and what abilities she could regain.

For now, Goldy trying to teach her daughter to make use of her left hand, and bought her a coloring book for practice while she remains in care of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in Evesham.

Goldy knows that caring for her daughter will become a full-time job. A GoFundMe page for the family is seeking to raise funds to cover Gentile's initial medical expenses, and a benefit has been scheduled for Sept. 17.

Despite the long road to recovery ahead, Goldy is grateful for her daughter's "miracle" recovery so far, and already sees traces of the woman she knew before the crash.

"She knows who mom is, that's for sure," Goldy said. "She knows who you are, and she knows that she loves you."



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Woman hit by car wakes from coma in 'unbelievable' recovery