Delaware Co. Family Pleading For Prayers After 22-Year-Old Left Paralyzed By Crash

A young Delaware County man is in the ICU and paralyzed from the chest down after a terrible car crash.

The 22-year-old's father said he's leaning on his faith to get them through this as they pray for his recovery.

A week after the wreck, Neamya Zacharias is still in intensive care but his family said he's a fighter, and they have faith that he'll pull through.

Last Saturday Ron Junkert watched as the car his 22-year-old son Neamya was in got hit by an oncoming SUV.

"Hit the right front of my car, and it snapped my son's neck. He's now paralyzed. As of now, he's up in Freeman Hospital up in Joplin," Junkert said.

Junkert said he ran to his son's car and leapt into action.

"I opened up the door, I started talking to him, he was coherent. But right away he started telling us that he couldn't feel his legs," Junkert said. "He started asking his mom, 'Am I gonna be paralyzed, am I gonna be paralyzed?'"

Neamya was flown to the hospital with serious spinal injuries.

The family's first step is to get him to breathe on his own again, but their main goal is movement.

"Trying to get movement back into his legs. Our main goal is for him to walk again. And he’s going to walk again. We have complete faith that he's going to walk," Junkert said.

There are major challenges ahead, but Junkert said his son has always been a fighter.

"This kid - he's unstoppable, he's so outgoing. He was a baseball star; he was in the military. This kid he's very outgoing and just to see him stop. So hard," Junkert said.

Until Neamya has recovered, the family will make trips to Joplin to see him. The travel means Junkert is unable to keep his business going.

"It's just rough, we're the only ones we have here," Junkert said. "Really we just need prayers. We need lots, and lots of prayers."

If you'd like to help the family with the recovery process, click the link here to donate.