Teenage Crash Victim Using Zumba Classes To Raise Money For Medical Bills

A 16-year-old girl is on a long road to recovery after a crash investigators say was caused by an unlicensed driver. The four-vehicle-chain reaction crash happened near 129th East Avenue and 31st Street back in April.

Bridgette Hennings says her daughter Deja is fun and loving, and the kind of person you would want to know. She says her daughter's life has changed forever because of a person who should not have been behind the wheel.

"I was here at home, and I got that call that no parent ever wants to get," Hennings said.

Bridgette Hennings says her daughter Deja was driving her brother from a family member's home when a driver who had been convicted twice before of driving without a license and who was in court before the crash pulled in front of another driver. The chain reaction caused her daughter to crash into a semi-truck.

"My son miraculously all he had was just a little cut across his forehead. My daughter couldn't feel her legs," Hennings said.

It has been a long journey to recovery for Deja.

"There was a sever of her spinal cord so at first the doctors were like we can't tell you what's going to happen. The good thing is that she is young, so that is good on her side, but we don't know what she will actually regain," Hennings said.

She says her daughter was in a neck and back brace and she's still not able to walk, but she does have full function of her upper body.

"So now it's trying to learn how to navigate the world without being able to walk right now," Hennings said.

Bridgette says a GoFundMe was created to try to offset some of her medical bills, but she has also found creative ways to raise money. She's used her skills as a Zumba instructor to host a danceathon.

"It was to help with the cost of everything, but also to bring people together to show support of Deja," Hennings said.

Hennings says she plans to host another danceathon class to raise money.

Click here to access the GoFundMe for Deja's medical bills.