Somerset —
As Northern Middle School students on Thursday wore pink in honor of their injured classmate, 12-year-old Jaden Jasper remained in critical condition at a Lexington hospital with severe head injuries.
Jaden was riding with her father, James “Jimmy” Jasper, 56, in an SUV Tuesday evening on Pumphouse Road when the car left the roadway and crashed through a wooden fence line before coming to a stop in an adjoining field.
Both Jaden and Jimmy suffered serious injuries in the crash after fence planks penetrated the vehicle’s grill, engine compartment, firewall and into the passenger compartment.
According to Jaden’s uncle and Jimmy’s brother-in-law Doug Miller, the 7th-grader suffered a depressed skull fracture in the accident when a fence plank struck her directly in the forehead. A depressed skull fracture is characterized by a bone break — usually caused by blunt force trauma — in which the bone pushes inward. In Jaden’s case, the bone is pushing inward and putting immense pressure on her brain.
Jaden had already undergone a procedure during which doctors placed a lumbar drain to help remove spinal fluid that had accumulated on Jaden’s brain. Miller had said she was slated to undergo further surgery today.
An update from the Jasper family through the Facebook page called “Prayers for Jaden” stated Jaden’s reconstructive surgery scheduled for today has been postponed because of additional bleeding behind Jaden’s eye.
Jimmy was struck and impaled by a fence plank in the shoulder area. He suffered a number of injuries in the accident, including a broken collarbone, broken clavicle, broken ribs, broken vertebrates, broken wrist, collapsed aorta, and a skull fracture, according to Miller.
A spokesperson with the UK Medical Center said Jimmy’s condition had been upgraded from critical to serious as of Thursday afternoon. Jaden was still listed in critical condition.
As Jaden and Jimmy continue to recover, and as their loved ones huddle around them at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, the community has continued to rally around them through social networks — and through students’ effort to wear pink for Jaden on Thursday.
The “Prayers for Jaden” page was set up by one of Jaden’s friends soon after word spread of the car accident Tuesday. By 5 p.m. Thursday, more than 4,000 people were following the page and its constant updates on Jaden and Jimmy.
Jaden is a straight-A student at Northern Middle, Miller said. He also said she plays an instrument in the school band, and he said she’s been involved with a number of community and fundraising events in the past.
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