Community Rallies Behind Crash Victim

Most people can recall a tragic story of a high school classmate whose life was cut short or forever changed by a car crash. Sadly, students at Newport Harbor High School began carrying such a grim remembrance in May, when Amanda Arthur suffered severe brain damage in an automobile accident on a curvy road along Upper Newport Bay.

But unlike other unfortunate situations in which youthful victims quickly fade from public consciousness, Amanda’s struggle has affected people far beyond the campus of her high school.

Indeed, the entire community has rallied around the school’s 17-year-old head cheerleader, who has been in a coma since the accident, when the Chevrolet Blazer in which she was riding with nine friends flipped over, killing one student and injuring several others.

“Is there a word better than awesome? I don’t know. It’s so unreal, the support,” said Chris Maese, Amanda’s mother. “What’s that saying? It takes a village to raise a child. Well, this whole community is raising Amanda up with their prayers, hope and love.”

Amanda’s plight continues to command the attention of the news media, scores of friends and classmates, and hundreds of strangers.

The most dramatic example yet was a benefit concert Thursday night that raised more than $60,000 to offset an estimated $150,000 in annual medical and rehabilitation costs for Amanda. About 3,000 people paid $20 each to hear Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers in concert and to offer their support and encouragement to the teenager and her family, who have no medical insurance.

Terry Phillips, who helped to organize the benefit concert, said it is no mystery that the community has pitched in so vigorously and so graciously. In the weeks before the benefit, when Phillips collected more than $20,000 in small donations, he realized what is behind it all.

“It’s not like Amanda is my daughter or your daughter,” said Phillips, who oversees the Amanda Arthur Recovery Fund. “But in a way, she represents everyone’s daughter.”

More than a month after the accident, which damaged the part of Amanda’s brain that regulates such vital functions as blood pressure and body temperature, good wishes continue to pour in through the mail. Alex Maese, Amanda’s stepfather, said the family has received hundreds of cards and letters, most of them from strangers.

“People write that when their teenagers go out they think about what happened to Amanda,” Maese said. “There’s just so much compassion out there.”

The Maeses say they are especially moved by those who have volunteered their time at everything from carwashes to the benefit concert, even though they are not acquainted with Amanda personally. One of those is Sterling Clark, a 16-year-old cheerleader from nearby Corona del Mar High School, who performed at Thursday’s benefit.

“I didn’t know her, but I had seen her before at games,” Clark said. “Everyone in cheerleading circles is still talking about it. It’s so tragic.”

Similarly, 29-year-old Hung Doan of Garden Grove does not know Amanda, but when he heard about the benefit he volunteered for the security detail at the event, held at the Newport Beach Country Club.

“I know what this feels like. One of my friends was shot and killed in a parking lot. He was an innocent bystander,” said Doan, an office technician for the Orange County district attorney’s office. “Like my friend, she doesn’t get to enjoy what will be. I felt so bad, I just wanted to help.”

Amanda was transferred recently from Western Medical Center-Santa Ana to the Meridian Neuro Care Center, where she will undergo extensive rehabilitation and treatment.

“Amanda has definitely acquired a significant amount of brain injury,” said Bill Rowlett, head of the Meridian facility. “Right now, her condition is guarded, but hopefully over time that will improve.”

In addition to doctors, Amanda is also being treated by physical, occupational and speech therapists.

The most hopeful sign Amanda shows is being able to track people with her eyes across a room, family members say. They and the friends who visit her remain hopeful of a recovery.

“I really think she’s in there trying to get out,” benefit organizer Phillips said. “I believe she can come back a long way, if not all the way, but it’s not going to happen tomorrow.”

Donations to the Amanda Arthur Recovery Fund may be sent to P.O. Box 3192, Newport Beach, CA 92659.