Carrick Teen Fighting For His Life After Falling From Moving Car
CARRICK (KDKA) -- Hundreds of people are rallying around a local teenager who nearly died after a car accident.
Darren Dominowski, 16, fell off the back of a car in Carrick on Jan. 3.
He was with a group of friends that gathered to play football.
They decided to move from a smaller field to a larger one when Darren, and his friend Vincent Mion, made a split-second decision that changed their lives.
Vincent's mother, Valerie told KDKA, "My son and another boy jumped up and rode on the back of the car on the trunk. The young man stepped on the gas too hard and both children went flying and both sustained head injuries. It's been devastating on our whole community. "
Vincent had a concussion and broken hand, but Darren's injuries were much more critical.
He suffered severe brain trauma that required days of life support and several surgeries. He is slowly recovering and was just moved out of intensive care.
Valerie is among the volunteers organizing a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for Darren on Sunday at Carrick High School. She says the family is in need of financial help due to "enormous" medical expenses.
"It was devastating to watch their child lay there with a brain injury for 10 days and not know if he was going to pull through or not," Valerie said.
Meanwhile, her son, Vincent, visits Darren at UPMC Mercy Hospital while focusing on his own recovery.
"I'm definitely not remembering a lot because every single time I go to sleep I wake up and forget everything that happened the last day," said Vincent.
"These are good teenagers," said Valerie. "They did something a little stupid, but they're great teenagers, and I'm so proud of my community for coming together the way they have. "
Information on Sunday's fundraiser can be found on the Facebook page, Spaghetti Dinner for Darren (Double D).
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