Parents of boy critically injured in hit-and-run bus crash thank God, others for his survival – LancasterOnline

Noam Weaver was ejected and pinned under a bus carrying more than a dozen Lancaster Mennonite students in East Lampeter Township.

The first news account we read about the accident in which our son was critically injured said that he was fighting for his life, the letter, signed by Mike, Sheri, Noam and Eden Weaver, begins.

Anyone who knows our Noam knows that he is energetic and persistent, so that statement could not have been truer, the letter continues. With injuries to his spleen and lungs and fractures of his pelvis, ribs and right arm, and severe abrasions on his face and left elbow, his life indeed hung in the balance.

Most of the 14 students and two adults hurt in the crash came out with only minor injuries. Besides Noam, a 16-year-old boy was also seriously hurt.

On Wednesday, Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said the conditions of both boys had improved, and they are expected to recover from their injuries.

The district attorney said Irvin was driving a Chevrolet Malibu registered to his parents at the time of the crash. Irvin has been cited five times for driving under a suspended license since 2004, police said.

Irvin, of Nottingham, has been living with his parents on Devon Drive, Lancaster Township, officials said. He was arrested and arraigned on $100,000 bail Wednesday, which he posted Wednesday night, according to a prison official.

Lancaster Mennonite superintendent Pamela Tieszen said in an email Thursday that the school remains focused on the health and well being of our students and families through the remainder of the school year.

Tieszen said the school is grateful for the outpouring of support from many individuals, organizations, churches and especially local school districts.

The letter from Noams parents goes on to thank God and everyone involved in the boys rescue and medical treatment, including the bus driver and fellow students, EMS, police and fire crews that responded to the scene, the trauma team at Lancaster General Hospital and the medical staff at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was taken by helicopter for treatment.

His parents said they are grateful that Noams right leg showed signs of life after a surgery to restore blood flow from a blood clot, as well as a computed tomography scan that showed no damage to his spinal cord and an magnetic resonance imaging scan that confirmed his brain will be fine.

We understand the journey to full recovery will be long with peaks and valleys along the way, Noams parents wrote. One week past the accident, Noam began his day alert and talking, doing his math flash cards from school, eager to watch the Phillies on TV and build Legos. Those moments of normality, however, were followed by twelve hours of anxiety and confusion.

They wrote of the many unknowns of our days ahead and said they are eternally grateful that Noam is still part of our family and that we have another opportunity to celebrate his birthday with him on Friday.

Below is the full text of the letter by Noam Weaver's parents.

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Parents of boy critically injured in hit-and-run bus crash thank God, others for his survival - LancasterOnline