Child injured at bus stop 'making small progress'
JORDANA HUBBLE
Support continues to pour in for a 6-year-old girl and her family after the child was hit by a vehicle after exiting a school bus last week.
Jordana Hubble, a student at Olney-Bissell School, had gotten off a school bus on U.S. 93 west of Whitefish at about 4:44 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, when she was struck by an oncoming vehicle that failed to stop, even though the proper bus lights and stop signs were fully activated.
While there is no word if charges will be filed against the driver, community members have shown their support for her and her family with a fundraising campaign and preparing meals for the family.
According to information on mealtrain.com, a site for people to contribute to the family, Jordana is in an induced coma.
Katherine Sivanish, a Hubble family friend, posted Wednesday that Jordana has been taken off of a ventilator and is on a CPAP machine.
“They want her to start breathing on her own,” Silvanish wrote. “She still has a collapsed lung that they will be working on to try to get it open. She is making small progress. At this point it is a waiting game to see how far she will recover.
“The family once again wants to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers and all the support that they are receiving from everyone and the community,” Sivanish said.
According to the mealtrain.com site, donations have totaled more than $6,000 and many people have messaged that they will deliver food to the family home or to the Montana Children’s Hospital in Kalispell where family members are keeping watch over the child.
The investigation by Montana Highway Patrol indicates the driver of the vehicle is a local woman in her 50s.
Sgt. Chan Barry said that as far as he knew, alcohol wasn’t a factor.
The Flathead County Attorney’s Office, as of Wednesday morning, had not received a report from the Highway Patrol. Once it does, it will determine if charges should be filed.
Several fundraisers are also taking place to support the recovery for Jordana.
Whitefish Fire Department and Olney Fire and Ambulance are hosting a “Fill The Boot” fundraising drive for the next two weeks. Olney Fire is placing boots to fill with donations at the Olney Store and the Stillwater Bar, and Whitefish Fire will have a boot at its station at 275 Flathead Ave.
“Your donation will greatly help with medical bills, household bills, food and so forth, enabling her family to stay by her side as she recovers from the traumatic brain injury she suffered in the accident,” Olney Fire wrote in a Facebook post. “Our community always comes together for those going through trying times.”
Visit the Facebook page for Olney Fire & Ambulance or Whitefish Fire Department for more information on the “Fill The Boot” drive.