Father Who Lost Both Legs in Hit-and-Run Remains Positive He'll Walk Again

A dad is still bursting with positivity despite becoming a victim of a hit-and-run in Chicago and he's vowing he will walk again if only for the sake of his two sons.

While recovering from nine surgeries, Dr. Bryce Summary told CBS News that he will get a semblance of his former life back once he gets out of the hospital. He's currently still receiving treatments and has been on the watch of the medical staff at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He's been at the hospital for more than 25 days since the accident.

Summary and his wife, Amy, who are from St. Louis, were in town in Chicago for a conference. While walking on the Magnificent Mile, a white Mercedes Benz was trying to evade the red light and hit another car before it went straight for the couple.

Reports cited that the doctor was pinned down by the car with his legs crushed. The white car, on the other hand, sped off and disappeared onto the road.

His Legs Couldn't Be Saved

Summary's wife was uninjured but he had to be rushed to the nearby hospital, where doctors immediately assessed that they could not do anything about his crushed legs. The first thing the father thought of was that he won't be able to play or chase his sons Connor and Isaac around because his legs have to be amputated.

His boys have seen him after the operation and they have been curious about the fact that their father is going to have robot legs. Despite feeling angry, Summary said that becoming a victim of a hit-and-run gave him a new perspective on life. He will plan to be "the same Bryce" as he was before and create a new normal for his family.

"This is just a challenge that I need to overcome," the doctor said. "It's going to make me a better person."

The Summary family has set up a GoFundMe for the doctor's hospital bills, physical therapy and eventual prosthetics. So far, the fundraiser has received more than $35,000 from over 430 donors.

Hit-And-Run Case Still Not Closed

Meanwhile, the police are still unable to trace the owner of the vehicle responsible for the hit-and-run. In 2021, Chicago had more than 37,000 hit-and-run crashes with only three out of 1,000 arrests. In the previous years, only a handful of arrests were made as well.

NBC Chicago reported that there are many families of hit-and-run victims still waiting to have those accountable in prison. For instance, the family of Christine Campbell said that the police have had run-ins with the suspect who hit their favorite aunt. The 70-year-old woman died of her injuries from a hit-and-run that happened in December 2020.

Despite having records of the suspect, 20-year-old Marcel Windham, who was traced to Campbell's crash site via CCTV, the police have yet to close this case. Campbell's family was told that they are still waiting for the DNA tests to prove that Windham was the driver of the car that killed the old woman.