She was taking a picture of the moon, then a hit-and-run landed her in brain surgery
Lynn Hessley stepped off the sand near Sebastian Street Beach in Fort Lauderdale to take a picture of the moon shining on the water on the evening of July 3, when she was struck by a car rushing down A1A and lost consciousness.
Her sister, Jennifer Hessley, was supposed to receive the picture with a message wishing her a happy Fourth of July some hours later.
Instead, at midnight, Jennifer was waiting outside of Broward Health Medical Center while her 39-year-old sister had emergency brain surgery, with a fractured skull, pelvis and legs.
Fort Lauderdale police are looking for the white 2015 to 2017 Ford Mustang Coupe responsible for the felony hit-and-run that nearly killed Lynn around 10:40 p.m. at the intersection of A1A and Seville Street.
The car, which had multiple stickers on its rear end and damaged its front during the collision, was last seen leaving with another involved vehicle heading southbound on A1A that evening, according to police.
“We are trying to track down those involved,” said Traffic Homicide Investigator Andrea Johnson, who is asking for the public’s help in identifying the owner of the car.
The trauma surgeon who operated on Lynn, Dr. Jose Lozada, said the car must have been speeding when it struck her.
“It had to be a very strong blow just given the pattern of injuries she had,” Lozada said. “The legs, the head, those are very strong bones and require a strong impact for them to fracture.”
Surveillance footage from the night of the incident shows seven to eight vehicles that had to come to a halt due to the crash, according to Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. Deanna Greenlaw.
Greenlaw said the police are pleading with vehicle owners who may have witnessed the incident, but have not come forward with information yet.
“For it being Fourth of July weekend and the beach being closed, there was still heavy traffic,” Greenlaw said. “Maybe they (the vehicle owners) don’t realize how serious of an incident it was that interrupted their flow on A1A.”
Lynn was still in a critical state Monday, conscious during the day but speaking incoherently, Lozada said. It’s still too early to say whether she will suffer permanent damage.
The victim will require multiple surgeries and extensive rehabilitation, Jennifer said on a GoFundMe page where friends and family have already donated more than $21,000 to help cover Lynn’s medical expenses.
Jennifer said she is heartbroken that she can’t visit Lynn in person in the hospital due to COVID-19 precautions. However, Jennifer was able to FaceTime her sister some days after her surgery with the help of medical staff.
“It was emotional and it was scary, but when we saw her she looked like her beautiful self,” Lynn said, describing the bruising on her sister’s face and body, and the signs of a broken bone around her eye.
On Friday, Lynn — a “proud Disney pass owner,” according to her sister — was supposed to celebrate her 40th birthday at Walt Disney World in Orlando with her friends.
Instead, Jennifer is working with a graphic designer to print an 8 1/2-by-11 poster with Lynn’s picture and the #TeamLynn and #JusticeForLynn hashtags.
“Lynn is currently holding her own while on life support and we are celebrating the little victories that we can along this long, scary and heartbreaking journey,” Jennifer said in an update on her sister’s GoFundMe page.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
