Serious Car Wreck Can’t Stop Newton

Southern California College opens its baseball season Friday and Matt Newton is expected to start at first base.

Some are calling it a miracle that Newton is alive, let alone playing.

Fifteen months ago, Newton was involved in a high-speed automobile accident when the Ford Tempo he was driving hit head on with a 22-foot construction trailer that had become disconnected from a big rig on the 57 Freeway near Edison Field.

Newton suffered major head trauma and many of his facial bones were pulverized when the trailer’s hitch plowed through his car’s windshield. His jaw was broken in three places and his left arm, his throwing arm, was also broken in three places.

It took half an hour to pry Newton out of the car and he wasn’t breathing when paramedics arrived. He didn’t regain consciousness for 11 days.

Newton doesn’t remember anything about the wreck but said doctors told him later they didn’t think he had long to live when he was wheeled into the hospital.

“It completely amazes me that God has kept me alive,” Newton said. “It’s beyond understanding. I don’t know why I am living. On the baseball field sometimes I just sit back and say, ‘I can’t believe I’m functioning, let alone living.’ It takes my breath away.”

A passenger in the car, Tim Morgan, walked away from the crash with only a scratch on his knee.

“All of a sudden, right in the middle of our conversation, there was a crash, glass was flying, we were sliding down the freeway,” Morgan said. “It was like one of those movie scenes. Tires were squealing. It seemed like it lasted 20 seconds, but it most likely was only five seconds or so.

“Then it stopped and I tried to get out,” he continued. “But my seat belt was still on. I looked over at Matt and his face was gory, like a big piece of hamburger meat.”

Newton needed multiple surgeries on his face, and just last fall he had surgery on his jaw so he could get artificial teeth. He lost 32 pounds during the ordeal and it took 20 titanium plates and multiple steel screws to reconstruct his skull.

Coach Kevin Kasper said he, too, is amazed how well, and quickly, Newton has recovered. He expects Newton, a senior, to hit leadoff.

“He’s more or less like he used to be,” Kasper said. “He was a sparkplug for us. He hit the ball to all fields and got us going.”

In 1997 Newton led the Vanguards in hitting, batting .340. He ranked first on the team in doubles, triples, stolen bases and fielding percentage.

Kasper said Newton tires more easily, and figured it would be some time before he regains the stamina he once had. Newton agreed, saying his throwing arm isn’t as strong as he’d like it to be and, at times, it aches.

“I’m basically getting the rust out now,” Newton said. “I’ve taken some pretty big strides that I didn’t expect to take so quickly. I don’t have complete, full extension of my arm at the joint, and there is some pain. But as a first baseman that’s not too much of a problem.”

Newton, who plans to become a minister after graduating this spring, sees his recovery as an omen. He belongs to a school-sponsored comedy-drama group called the Delivery Boys that has performed before young audiences in 17 states. At each stop he tells his story as a way of reminding children just how much they should cherish life.

“He is a man of determination and perseverance,” Morgan said. “He is really determined that, in his mind and heart, life is worth living.”

AIMING FOR A RECORD

Concordia junior guard Josh Giles, who leads the Golden State Athletic Conference in scoring at 17.7 points per game, is 32 points away from breaking the decade-old men’s basketball team record for most career points.

The record is 1,211 set by Mike Thompson (1985-89). The Eagles (13-9, 2-2) are on the road tonight at Westmont (15-2, 3-1) and Friday at Azusa Pacific (16-3, 3-1).

FIRST PLACE ON LINE

Southern California College (15-6, 3-1), Azusa Pacific (13-5, 3-1) and Fresno Pacific (10-9, 3-1) are tied atop the GSAC women’s basketball standings, but at least one of those will drop out after today’s 5:30 p.m. showdown between Fresno Pacific and host SCC.

Former Fountain Valley center Kelly Boeke, a freshman at SCC, leads the GSAC in rebounding (8.3 a game) and field-goal percentage (58.2%). SCC senior guard Amee Pina leads the league in three-point shooting (46.3%) and assists (162), and senior forward Kristi Wright leads the GSAC in free throw shooting, having made 63 of 72 attempts.

Notes

Priscilla Bendik, a 5-10 junior forward at Concordia, was named player of the week in the Golden State Athletic Conference. She averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds in leading the Eagles (9-8, 2-2) to victory in two of three games last week.

Paul McLeod can be reached at (714) 966-5904 or at Paul.McLeod@latimes.com