By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A 14-year-old Pelham High School freshman is home from the hospital after he was struck by a car and seriously injured while walking on Bearden Road near the high school.

Tyler Lee was airlifted from the scene Aug. 18 after he sustained serious head injuries in the incident, but is expected to make nearly a full recovery, said his mother, Hayden.

“We actually went to see the neurosurgeon this morning, and he said he was pleased with how well Tyler is recovering so far,” Hayden Lee said Aug. 30. “He made us feel a lot better, too because he told us that a lot of the things we were concerned with are typical of a head injury. He said that a head injury just heals very slowly.”

Even though Tyler Lee sustained brain damage in the incident, doctors told the family “90 percent” of the injury should be healed within the next six months.

“Like a typical teenager, he wants to go and do everything and go back to school and see his friends right away. But school is just out of the question right now,” Hayden Lee said.

Hayden Lee said the accident happened while Tyler was walking with his girlfriend from a PHS volleyball game to Pelham City Park, where the rest of the Lee family was watching a youth football practice.

When her son did not show up at the ballpark when expected, Hayden Lee sent him a text message. When she received no response, she text him again, and again got no response.

“Then I saw the ambulances and fire trucks go by, and I got that sinking terrible sinking feeling,” she said. “His girlfriend’s mother called me and told me what happened, and I flew up there.

“I ran up to him, and Tim Honeycutt, one of the first responders, said when they found him he was unconscious and barely breathing,” Hayden Lee added. “We haven’t heard from the lady who was driving since the accident.”

Despite being struck by a car, Tyler did not suffer any broken bones aside from his head injury.

“It’s a miracle he is alive at all,” she said. “We try to keep reminding him of how lucky he is.”

Since the incident, the Lee family has seen an outpouring of donations and community support, Hayden Lee said. Shortly after the accident, some of Tyler Lee’s family members established a fund in his honor, which has already seen a “ton” of donations.

“We have been completely overwhelmed by the support,” Hayden Lee said. “Someone even bought us meals through Sept. 11.”

To follow Tyler Lee’s recovery, or to make a donation to his recovery fund, visit Caringbridge.org/visit/tylerlee.