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Hernando Today

Mom: Teen In Collision Spared For Higher Purpose

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: February 28, 2009

WEEKI WACHEE - The worlds of two people were forever altered the morning of Feb. 19.

It was swift, immediate and random.

"This could have happened to anybody," says Andrea Lyle.

Lyle belongs to the world of Andrew Morris, her 16-year-old son. On Feb. 19, he was driving west on Powell Road when he crossed the center line and crashed into an oncoming car.

Inside that car was Capt. Scott Bierwiler, who was headed to work at the sheriff's office. Bierwiler, 42, was immediately killed by the impact. Morris barely escaped with his life.

As Hernando County residents and the sheriff's office mourned, doctors operated on the teenager to mend his broken body. Earlier this week, he was upgraded to fair condition.

Lyle didn't want to go into great detail about her son's ailments on Friday, but she said he had multiple broken bones. As a former wrestler and cross country runner at Nature Coast Technical High School, Morris was in peak physical condition. That's helped the recovery.

Still, medical staff grades his condition "day by day and hour by hour," Lyle said.

There are still a host of unanswered questions.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the big one: Where was Morris coming from and where was he going?

Morris doesn't remember anything about the accident. He doesn't talk much, anyway. His mother describes him as "withdrawn."

His family and medical staff are still waiting for the appropriate time to tell him about Capt. Bierwiler's death.

Lyle ponders the existential questions. Coming so close to losing her only son was "very scary," she said.

She's seen the photos of the mangled vehicles at the crash site and she marvels her son survived. It's evidence to her that there's a higher purpose for Morris.

"I just hope God will help him see that," she said.

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

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