Plain Township boy injured in bicycle crash expected to leave hospital soon
An 8-year-old boy who hit a van while riding his bike on Labor Day is expected to return home from the hospital soon.
Heather Swiney said her son Jordan Owens is doing well in rehabilitation at Akron Children's Hospital.
"He is talking, walking and eating and wanting to go home and just pretty much back to his normal self," she wrote in an email. "We are hoping that he gets to go home in the next couple of weeks."
Jordan was seriously injured after he collided with a van while riding at Bretton Street and Norriton Circle NW in Plain Township. The van left the scene of the accident.
The van's driver, Clifford T. Smith, 75, of Plain Township has been charged with failure to stop after an accident, a fourth-degree felony, in Canton Municipal Court. The case has been sent to the Stark County grand jury.
The van he was driving belongs to the Stark County Educational Service Center, which has discontinued using Smith to provide transportation on an as-needed basis pending the outcome of an investigation. Smith told a deputy sheriff who investigated the crash that he left the scene of the Sept. 4 accident because he was afraid of losing his job.
Jordan was among the Akron Children's patients recently visited by volunteers in superhero costumes. He was all smiles in a photo taken on Sept. 30, when representatives of the nonprofit Super Heroes to Kids in Ohio visited.
Those arriving to cheer the patients were Joshua Rutherford as Captain America, Michelle Dean as Supergirl and Hector Cirilo as Flash.
Representatives of the group visit Akron Children’s Hospital patients about once a month, hospital spokeswoman Holly Pupino said.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.
On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mom: Jordan Owens recovering well from bicycle accident
