Winnipeg cyclist pinned by SUV wakes up after 2-month coma
Woman involved in Fermor crash in May is now communicating with family
A Winnipeg cyclist who was seriously injured after being pinned to the ground by an SUV at the end of May has awakened from her two-month coma.
Janice Naccarato was biking near the corner of St. Mary's Road and Fermor Avenue on the morning of May 31, when two vehicles collided. One of the vehicles, an SUV, rolled over and she was pinned under it.
Janice's son Jayce wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday that his mother was now awake.
"I'm SO pleased to announce to everyone that my mother has woken up from her coma as of this past Saturday, July 29th — just shy of 2 calendar months since the incident!" he wrote.
"She is awake, aware of her surroundings, and even attempting to talk. She is able to process faces, and is whispering out questions, albeit quietly so they're hard to interpret. She's able to nod her head when inferring questions as well."
Doing nothing wrong: witness
Witnesses in May said the crash was not Janice's fault in any way.
"She literally was doing nothing wrong. She was following the rules of the road and a car flew out of nowhere," Kevin Harlow, a passerby who witnessed the crash, told CBC.
Harlow said he saw the SUV crash into another car and then roll over onto its side. He said when he went to check on the driver he found the cyclist, who was wearing a helmet, trapped underneath the vehicle.
About a dozen drivers worked together to roll the SUV off Janice, at one point wedging a metal newspaper box under the vehicle to allow the group a breather.
Janice was rushed to hospital in critical condition. She was eventually upgraded to stable condition, but family said her brain was swollen.