Granville woman hit by alleged drunk driver recovering from coma

GRANVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Helen Crawford was biking home from her job at Amazon when she was hit by a truck driven by Brian Hyatt of Vermont. The accident put Crawford in a coma and Granville Police charged Hyatt with a DWI.

It was around 8 at night back on December 16, 2023. Helen Crawford’s family was waiting for her to get home from work when her mom received a message that she didn’t want to believe.

“I was sitting here on the couch and somebody messaged me, “Your daughter was just hit by a drunk driver. You need to answer your door.” I’m like, no, not even funny,” described Joann Hackett.

Helen was rushed to the hospital and her family says doctors were not sure if Helen would make it. The surgery she needed had a 1 in 100 chance of survival. But Helen overcame the odds and worked her way out of a coma. She is now beginning to write and talk again.

“She was still up in Burlington and Harper was sitting next to her coloring. We look over and Helen picks up the colored pencil and just starts coloring. She wrote all of our names. She wrote his name, my name…,” said Joann.

“One of the things she wrote was save me,” added Helen’s fiancee, Craig House.

While Crawford goes through therapy, her family is looking to hold the driver who caused this accountable. They told NEWS10’s Anthony Krolikowski that Hyatt was supposed to appear in Granville Village Court.

“To our knowledge, it’s been postponed twice. He did get charged with a felony DUI and I think there’s a couple of other charges. More charges are to be determined based on the outcome of Helen,” stated Helen’s stepfather, Fred Hackett.

Helen’s parents and fiance are eager for her to return home one day. They pray for her recovery and that this does not happen to someone else.

“Please don’t do it. Please. Think twice. Call somebody. Getting behind the wheel after you’ve had some drinks will be the worst decision of your life,” said Joann.