Hearthstone of Beaverton steps up to rally around 'miracle' crash survivor

Cards, letters and fundraising efforts encourage beloved receptionist to get back on her feet

By Christina Lent

The Beaverton Valley Times, Jun 24, 2010, Updated Jun 24, 2010 (1 Reader comment)

Jaime Valdez / Beaverton Valley Times

ON A MISSION — Judy LeClaire is determined to return to her job as Hearthstone of Beaverton’s receptionist with a renewed sense of purpose to help those who came to her aid.

‘Time stood still’

On Feb. 25, LeClaire went for a walk in her Sherwood neighborhood along a route she followed five days a week ever since her recovery from heart surgery six years ago.

Three blocks from her home, she was crossing a long, wide driveway of an apartment complex when she spotted an older Chrysler approaching.

“It was a little erratic,” she recalled. “It came to a stop, and I stepped off the curb.

“I could not see (the driver’s) eyes. She had her visor down. I thought I saw her motioning that it was ok for me to go because I saw her hand signal to move. I thought that meant I could go. Very quickly, almost simultaneously, I heard her car rev up.”

LeClaire tried to get out of the way, but the Chrysler was too fast.“The car hit my right knee,” she said. “As fast as I could, I rolled. My foot got caught under her tire, and it pulled me like a vacuum cleaner – like a meat grinder. I was totally under the car and on my stomach. I could look between the front two tires and was realizing she had stopped on my right leg. She had dragged me 10 feet.”

LeClaire screamed as loud as she could for the driver to get the car off of her. “I wanted her to get off my leg – it felt like it was going to pop,” she said. “My mind had never been so clear. I could see the cars on Sherwood Boulevard. It was like time stood still.”

She remembers seeing a passing car stop in the middle of the road. Its driver got out and started motioning for the 84-year-old woman driving the Chrysler to back up.

“I turned over on my back,” LeClaire said. “My left shoulder was in excruciating pain. My right leg went from burning to a real cold numbing feeling.”

As the witness rushed to her side, telling her to hold still, LeClaire could hear sirens from nearby emergency responders.

Because of her heart surgery, she carried Nitro, a list of allergies and her daughter’s phone number with her as a precaution.

When crews began checking her battered and bloody body, LeClaire told them that her driver’s license and medical insurance card were in her left pocket. “I was talking so fast,” she admitted. “I was awake clear to the hospital.”