Battle Ground boy, 16, will have lower leg amputated

The Battle Ground boy who was hit by a car and waited 90 minutes before he was found and taken to the hospital will undergo surgery to amputate his lower right leg on Monday.

Justin Carey, 16, had both of his femurs broken and both femoral arteries severed on June 10 when he was hit by a Nissan Maxima at the intersection of Northeast 82nd Avenue and Northeast 289th Street in Battle Ground. He was waiting for the bus to Battle Ground High School at 7 a.m. when the crash occurred, but wasn’t discovered until a tow truck driver arrived 90 minutes later. The driver of the Nissan, Shaun Johnson, 46, of Vancouver, didn’t tell authorities she had hit someone. Clark County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t cited or arrested Johnson, saying that the investigation is ongoing.

Although doctors initially said that Carey would walk, it appears that now may have to be with a prosthetic.

At the hospital, Carey contracted a staph infection that led to more surgeries, which involved removing 85 percent of his muscle from his lower right leg. The tissue around the leg is decomposing and not viable, said Carey’s mother Janette Chumley.

Chumley said that Justin’s decision to remove the leg was a brave one.

“Since his surgery on Wednesday Justin has been finding the courage to make a decision that will change his life forever,” Chumley wrote on a Justin’s CaringBridge page. “We, as his parents, also support his brave decision to move on with his active life as soon as he can.”

Removing the leg means fewer surgeries, less time at the hospital and starting rehabilitation sooner, she wrote.

“His dream was to enlist in the Air Force is unlikely but we support any future ambitions he will have! We will all see the amazing things Justin will overcome and accomplish in the near future!” Chumley wrote on the webpage.

To get updates on Carey’s progress, visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/justincarey. An account to offset the medical costs has also been set up and donations can be made at any branch of Bank of America to the “Justin Carey Caring Fund.”