Event Raises $11,000 to Aid Teen in Coma

Supporters of a Tustin teenager who was badly injured in a car crash last spring said they will continue with fund-raising efforts, after a weekend event attended by more than 1,000 people raised more than $11,000.

Trevor Hodges, 16, has been unconscious since the accident in May, when he crashed the classic 1970 Chevrolet Camaro restored by his grandfather and given to him as a 16th birthday present while going home from his job at a fast-food restaurant.

He suffered massive head injuries when the car crashed as he exited the Santa Ana Freeway at Tustin Ranch. Hodges is undergoing treatment at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana; uncovered medical costs have mounted to about $400,000, family friends said.

At a fund-raiser Saturday night at Calvary Church in Tustin, more than 1,000 people listened to testimonials from friends, teachers and the congregation’s members. The night featured music and an appearance by 18-year-old Amanda Arthur, who suffered severe head injuries in car wreck nine days after the one in which Hodges was injured. Arthur, who remained in a coma for three months after her accident, stood from her wheelchair to deliver a message to Hodges.

“Please, wake up,” she said.

Other speakers praised Hodges as a fun-loving but sensible and conscientious young man.

“Trevor knows how to have fun,” said the Rev. Dave Mitchell, his pastor at Calvary. “He knows how to do the crazy, wild things. But he also loves the Lord, and he’s in God’s hands tonight.”

For information on the campaign to raise funds for the injured teen’s medical expenses, call (714) 253-5507.