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Hernando Today

Fundraiser Set For Survivor Of Near-Fatal Crash

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: June 21, 2008

SPRING HILL - Luke Brown was chatting on his cell phone with his girlfriend when she screamed mid-sentence.

Then the phone went dead.

As his frantic calls went unanswered, Brown's concern grew. A call from his girlfriend's mother an hour later confirmed his fears.

Ashley Tanner, 21, was one of four people in a vehicle headed back home to Hernando County on June 15 when a car coming in the opposite direction hydroplaned and struck them head-on near Destin.

The other three people in the car suffered serious injuries, including broken bones, but Tanner sustained the brunt of the damage. She was flown by helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with massive head trauma, including a broken face. She remains in the critical care ward.

"She could very well lose her eyesight," Brown said.

Her co-workers at the Dairy Queen and Fun Zone on U.S. 19, a mile north of the Pasco County border, are hosting a car wash on Sunday, June 29, to help pay for the medical bills.

Tanner, who grew up in Spring Hill, has two children, ages 2 and 3, one of whom has a mental disability.

"They miss her a lot," Brown said.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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