Personal Injury News

Lone survivor of plane crash will recover from injuries

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The lone survivor of a plane crash that killed 49 people near the Lexington airport will recover from his injuries, but faces a long recovery, his surgeon said Friday.

James Polehinke, who was the first officer on Comair Flight 5191, "is moving out of the woods," but will require more surgeries to repair broken bones before moving to rehabilitation, said Dr. Andrew Bernard, a trauma surgeon at the University of Kentucky hospital.

"I predict he will survive," Bernard said.

Polehinke, 44, was the co-pilot on the flight, which crashed in a field Aug. 27, shortly after taking off from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington. Federal aviation investigators have said the plane took off from a runway that was too short.

Bernard said Polehinke remained in serious condition in the intensive care unit and will remain hospitalized for several more weeks before being ready for rehabilitation.

"He continues to improve and make good progress and he is more wakeful than he has ever been and is interacting with his family, but he is still not completely lucid, which is common after a brain injury," Bernard said.

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