Crushing aftermath: Highland man nearly killed when hit by drunk driver, left with lifelong injuries; driver could be out of prison next year

Fourteen months have handed since a drunk driver crashed his pickup truck head-on into the automobile of Oakland County resident Sawyer Pierce.

Pierce, whose physique was crushed, virtually died on the age of 28.

Since then, he has battled to recuperate from extreme head and mind trauma, the close to severing of his proper arm, a number of organ accidents, a number of damaged bones, inside bleeding, a number of lacerations and extra.

He spent a month in intensive care, out and in of consciousness, struggling mind hemorrhages, blood clots, infections and a number of surgical procedures. He nonetheless must bear different operations.

After the prolonged hospital keep, Pierce was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation heart the place he spent 4 months earlier than returning to his house in Highland Township.

Pierce’s dad and mom, Kelly and Mike Pierce, now look after him full-time – 24 hours a day, seven days every week – without end. Kelly left her nursing place at Corewell Well being to look after her son; Mike had simply retired when the accident occurred.

Now Kelly and Mike’s days are stuffed with caring for his or her son, medical visits and intensive remedy appointments. It is an emotionally and bodily exhausting schedule, Kelly mentioned.

All of them get by way of it with perseverance, hope, a optimistic perspective and religion.

“God saved Sawyer right here for a purpose. He would not be right here if he wasn’t meant to be,” Kelly mentioned. “God has a plan for him.”

Pierce misplaced his capability to talk resulting from mind trauma; He has uttered a handful of phrases in latest weeks, however they arrive randomly, Kelly mentioned. He can not stroll independently, has very restricted use of his proper arm and hand, is incontinent, has periodic aggression and had epileptic seizures a number of months in the past.

And whereas Pierce has made progress, there isn’t a assure he’ll ever absolutely recuperate.

“It has been a hell of a 12 months,” Kelly mentioned.

Unjust verdict?

Daniel Lara, 45, is the one that turned Pierce’s life the wrong way up. He was intoxicated when he received behind the wheel of his Chevrolet Silverado and struck Pierce’s Buick Lacrosse on Highland Street (M59) close to Pontiac Lake Street in White Lake Township on August 27, 2024.

Citing a police report, Kelly mentioned, “(Lara) crossed three lanes of site visitors and crashed head-on into my son’s automotive, pushing it again 5 to 10 automotive lengths, after which drove into the entrance of Sawyer’s automotive and landed on it, crashing by way of his windshield and roof. Hearth crews labored for greater than an hour to free him from the mangled automobiles, ultimately utilizing a crane to raise the truck from Sawyer’s automotive.”

Kelly mentioned she and Mike had been shocked after they handed the accident scene on the best way to the hospital that night, believing there was no manner their son may have survived.

What they noticed was “heartbreaking,” Kelly mentioned, and Mike was “surprised” by it as he drove to McLaren Oakland Hospital the place their son had been taken.

Mike, who labored for the previous Pontiac Hearth Division for 26 years, was used to seeing tragedies on the roadways; he knew this one was catastrophic.

“Mike saved saying, ‘I do know he is lifeless, I do know he is lifeless…nobody may have survived that,'” Kelly mentioned.

To compound Pierce’s accidents, Kelly mentioned, Lara obtained a punishment that smacked of injustice.

In August, Lara pleaded no contest to working whereas intoxicated inflicting critical damage, a felony punishable by as much as 5 years in jail. However Lara might be launched by the top of subsequent 12 months: Oakland County Decide Nanci Grant sentenced Lara to 17 months to 5 years in confinement, with credit score for 79 days served. Its earliest launch date is November 15, 2026.

Lara was additionally fined $2,500.

Kelly needs penalties for such crimes elevated to replicate the severity of the accidents, somewhat than a blanket most of 5 years behind bars whatever the accidents brought on.

Lara is incarcerated on the Carson Metropolis Correctional Facility in central Michigan as a “Stage 1” inmate. Stage 1 is the bottom safety stage.

“We had been extraordinarily dissatisfied with the punishment. The place is his punishment? He performs playing cards all day together with his pals, will get coaching and we’ve got to pay for it.” Kelly mentioned. “It is not like he is sitting in his cell all day with an image of Sawyer, enthusiastic about what he did.”

Household pal Julie Skore McBride says the justice system is ‘a multitude’.

“I feel what occurred to Sawyer is horrible, however what’s much more horrible? The one that hit him actually would not study any classes from this,” McBride mentioned. “I’ve misplaced all religion in our justice system. The legal guidelines work for the criminals, not the victims. There isn’t any justice system – none.”

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Workplace informed the Oakland Press it was aggressively searching for justice for Pierce. The sentence imposed by the choose was on the prime of the rules and “mirrored the intense penalties of the crime and the lasting damage to the sufferer,” the prosecutor’s workplace mentioned.

The Oakland Press additionally reached out to Decide Grant, however Court docket Administrator Richard Lynch defined that she can not touch upon Lara’s case as a result of it falls inside the deadline for a celebration to attraction.

Throughout Lara’s sentencing listening to, Lynch famous, the choose expressed concern and help for the Pierces, then sentenced Lara on the prime of the plea deal tips — recognizing the ache they skilled and the energy they confirmed.

If she had sentenced Lara outdoors the phrases of the settlement, he may have withdrawn his plea and the case may have gone to trial, burdening the household with extra ache, Lynch defined.

Come on

As she helps her son deal with every day with a “half-full perspective,” Kelly mentioned her coronary heart aches for what was taken from him. Pierce excelled at his job, cherished soccer and his pals, and had a brilliant future forward of him, she mentioned.

Now it’s unknown whether or not Pierce will ever be capable to dwell independently. Kelly mentioned she prays every single day for a full restoration. And never a day goes by that she would not cry about what occurred.

Throughout Lara’s sentencing listening to, Kelly offered the household’s sufferer affect assertion, saying partly: “I used to dream about him getting married and having infants, and now all I can fear about is who will maintain him once we’re gone, and it breaks me. The emotional aspect of this accident is the toughest factor I’ve ever skilled in my life.”

Nonetheless, the outpouring of help from the group has been large, she mentioned. A GoFundMe account stays lively and greater than $50,000 has been pledged. It is an enormous assist, she mentioned.

The household continues to work with prosecutors to hunt damages from Lara. However the non-financial help has additionally been unimaginable, Kelly mentioned. The Facebook page, “Sawyer Strong,” has a whole lot of followers who maintain observe of his progress.

And naturally there are the prayers.

“Individuals everywhere in the world have been praying for Sawyer. Prayers are wonderful and have gotten us to the place we’re in the present day,” Kelly mentioned. “Prayers work.”