Jogger Attacked in Central Park to Go Home for Holiday
The woman who suffered brain damage when she was gang-raped and beaten in Central Park has recovered so well that she is planning to have Thanksgiving dinner with her family in the Pittsburgh, Pa., area, a court source said.
The 29-year-old investment banker, who was left for dead after she was attacked while jogging on April 19, has been recovering at a dramatic pace at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, Conn.
“She leaves the hospital frequently, returns to Manhattan and visits her apartment,” the source said. “She’s going to be with her family on Thanksgiving.” The woman is originally from the Pittsburgh area.
She is eager to testify at the trial of six teen-agers charged with raping and attempting to murder her, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But she will be allowed to do so only if family, doctors and prosecutors think it is in her best interests.
The woman owes her life to the puddle of cool mud in which her attackers left her, the source said.
“The mud acted as a cool compress. It prevented excessive swelling and damage of the brain,” the court source said.
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