Melissa Medina, the Windham woman who survived a terrifying plunge from the Bath viaduct last week when her sport utility vehicle broke through a guardrail, has been released from Maine Medical Center, the Portland hospital said Tuesday.
Medina suffered a serious gash from the top of her left eye to near her left ear, and doctors found swelling and bleeding in her brain, according to family members. She also suffered a collapsed lung, which has been re-inflated, multiple fractured ribs, bruises and other, less severe injuries.
Also in the vehicle at the time was Medina’s 12-year-old son, Matthew.
According to a crowd-funding Web page set up to help pay for the family’s medical bills, Matthew suffered a compression fracture in his spine and a small fracture in his skull, as well as brain swelling that is expected to subside.
A spokesman for the hospital declined to provide any information about the son.
“Both are obviously in pain but both are thankful to be alive,” family members wrote on the fundraising page.
A full reconstruction and review of the April 4 accident is still underway by Bath police, who do not expect to charge Medina in the crash.
Police Lt. Robert Savary said investigators believe Medina lost control of her rear-wheel-drive SUV when it fishtailed in icy conditions and crossed the centerline. Police said it appears that Medina overcorrected and struck the guardrail, flipping the vehicle over as it fell 30 feet to the road below.
The 2003 Mercury Mountaineer landed in the bed of a moving pickup truck, possibly lessening the impact. The driver of the pickup was shaken but uninjured.
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