'Miracle' child defies odds again, escapes serious injury

By Kathryn Grondin Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Thursday, February 10, 2005

A Lombard teen who defied odds as a newborn escaped serious injury in a Wednesday morning crash, despite her vehicle bouncing between a concrete median, a semitrailer truck and another car.
The three-vehicle crash on southbound Route 83 at Roosevelt Road in Oakbrook Terrace snarled morning rush hour traffic.

"They always told me I was a miracle. I guess I just keep proving it," 17-year-old Jessica Veenstra said later Wednesday. "I just escaped death again. I think I have a guardian angel. Hopefully, I don't have to cheat death anymore."

Veenstra was heading south on Route 83 on her way to Timothy Christian School when her Honda Civic spun out as she attempted to merge with traffic about 7:50 a.m., Police Chief Mark Collins said.

The car slid across southbound lanes and struck the center median, sending the Civic back into the center traffic lane and under the trailer of a semi truck driven by Robert Healey, 39, of Mount Brydges in Ontario, Canada, Collins said.

"I saw the semi coming right at me. I thought it disappeared into thin air," Veenstra said.

One of the truck's tires caught on the car and popped it into the left lane facing north, where the car was struck head on by a southbound Plymouth Sundance driven by Andrew Lenz, 18, of Villa Park, Collins said.

Veenstra was treated at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove and released within hours.

"It was a miracle she survived with very minor injuries," Collins said.

The only part of her car that wasn't smashed was the spot where she sat, her mother, Lois Veenstra, said.

"This was her second miracle," her mother said.

Jessica almost didn't make it into the world. Her mother's water broke just 16 weeks into her pregnancy, and doctors were not optimistic. But strict bed rest enabled Lois Veenstra to continue the pregnancy another 16 weeks, when Jessica was born early but healthy, her mom said.

"God wants her here for a reason," Lois Veenstra said.

All three drivers were wearing seat belts, Collins said. Veenstra was ticketed for driving too fast for conditions, he said.

Daily Herald