INDIANAPOLIS -- An Arlington High School student walked across the stage to receive her diploma Wednesday night – just five months after she was seriously injured by a van while crossing the street.
Monique'ka Lee was struck late last year at the intersection of 25th and LaSalle streets.
Lee was an "A" student and a star volleyball player with plans for college in her future. Her brain absorbed most of the damage in the crash. Doctors gave her 50-50 odds of survival.
"All I remember is being moved from the hospital I was at to Riley," Lee said.
For months, Lee worked to regain strength and coordination.
With her along the way was Arlington's alumni president Tim Bass, who says Lee has become like a daughter to him.
"Had to fight to learn how to walk all over again, to learn all over again since the brain injury, so it was a fight and a struggle," Bass said. "There were times she got frustrated, but we kept pushing her."
Lee plans to attend IUPUI on a scholarship in the fall.
