11-Year-Old Hit by Car Upgraded to Fair

An 11-year-old Ventura girl who sustained severe head injuries after being struck by a car while walking home from school was upgraded Sunday from serious to fair condition at Ventura County Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said.

Heather Drake, a sixth-grader at Anacapa Middle School, was scheduled to be moved from the intensive care unit to the pediatrics general care unit Sunday afternoon, supervisor Don Lake said.

She suffered a concussion after being hit by a car Friday around 3 p.m. in the 3700 block of Telegraph Road.

“She’s doing much better; she asked for her pink bunny,” Heather’s father, John Drake, said Sunday, referring to a stuffed toy Heather has had since she was 2 months old.

Family members have stayed at Heather’s bedside around the clock, Drake said. When she awoke Sunday morning, she didn’t know where she was, he said.

“I told her, ‘You’re in the hospital because you got hit,’ ” Drake said. “She was in so much pain, she didn’t really care.”

Doctors were uncertain whether Heather’s concussion would lead to permanent brain damage, Drake said. But she was expected to make a complete physical recovery.

On Friday, Heather and a friend were taking a three-block trek home from school when they attempted to cross Telegraph Road mid-block to reach their neighborhoods near Palomares Avenue. But Heather ran ahead of her friend.

According to Heather’s friend, a car stopped in the middle of Telegraph and the driver waved Heather across, Drake said. As Heather crossed, she ran into the path of another car and was struck, he said.

Stephen Fedde, 31, of Ventura, who was traveling slow than the 45 mph speed limit when he hit Heather, was not cited, police said.

“I don’t blame the man who hit Heather because he didn’t see her,” Drake said. “I blame the person who stopped and waved her across. That’s the worst thing you can do for a child. People who do that don’t look in their rearview mirrors to make sure there isn’t a second car coming up from behind. They’re putting children in more danger than doing any good.”