The Chicago nanny who was injured in a May accident in the Gold Coast while pushing a 20 month-old toddler in a stroller spoke publicly Tuesday about her ordeal for the first time.
"I remember just kind of like a white flash of the truck... I was face down on the sidewalk... and then I just remember screaming in pain," Jen Anton recalled. "Fifteen bystanders came over and lifted the truck off of us... I could just feel it. I was broken."
Anton was one of many victims in a May 21 accident involving an allegedly drunk Streets and Sanitation truck driver.
Anton has had 11 surgeries so far with more still to come. She now gets around in a wheelchair, having been released from in-patient care at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago just three days ago.
The driver of the truck, Dwight Washington, has since been charged with driving under the influence. Washington remains in the Cook County jail.
Anton said she's angry about Washington.
"I'm still months away until I'm back being me. I"m very independent," she said.
Anton says her medical bills already top one million dollars. Her mother, Kathy Anton of Kansas City, said her insurance is currently covering most of the bills, but when Anton turns 26 next year she'll be forced off the policy.
A fund has been established at Chase bank to collect donations to help pay for her care.
Jen Anton Fund
c/o Chase Bank
605 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
Pages have also been created on Facebook and on CaringBridge.
