Crime & Safety

Recent College Grad from Crystal Lake Struck by Car While on Run

Kelsey Johnson, a Prairie Ridge High School graduate, was struck by a car while out on a routine morning run in Des Moines. She is recovering from serious injuries sustained during the crash.

A 22-year-old Crystal Lake woman is recovering after she was hit by a car while out for a routine morning run in Des Moines on July 14 — only a month after graduating from Drake University, according to media reports. 

Kelsey Johnson, a Prairie High School graduate, was thrown 35 feet when a car driven by a 19-year-old woman, who had her learner's permit but was driving without another licensed driver, hit her, according to Suburban Life Publications. 

The driver told police the light at a Des Moines intersection had turned yellow when she "tried to make it through" rather than hitting on the brakes, according to Suburban Life Publications. 

The driver in the crash, Merima Jusufovic, has been cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, failure to obey a traffic control device and for a restricted license violation, according to the Des Moines Register. 

Johnson suffered serious injuries, including a fractured neck and a moderate brain injury, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help raise funds for medical expenses. 

Johnson is expected to be discharged from Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines Wednesday where she has been since the accident. She will be moved temporarily to an inpatient rehabilitation facility in Wheaton where she will begin intensive physical, occupational, and speech therapy, according to the GoFundMe website. 

The GoFundMe page, which was set up less than a week ago, has surpassed its goal of raising $15,000. As of Tuesday evening, almost $17,500 had been raised for the Johnson family.

Read more on Suburban Life Publications


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