Ty Garner going home

Ty Garner and his wife, Karen, are pictured here with their three sons: Evan, Landon and Christian.

By: Amy Weaver | Opelika Auburn News
Published: February 05, 2010

The ongoing saga for Ty Garner and his family begins a new chapter next week when the avid cyclist returns home to Opelika after spending the past six months in various hospitals between Alabama and Georgia.

Karen Garner said she is “excited and scared to death” that her husband will be coming home Thursday, almost exactly six months after Ty was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike along Shug Jordan Parkway on the morning of Aug. 8.

Ty, a physical therapist at Total Rehab in Auburn, has needed constant care since then. His latest stint has been at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in brain and spinal cord injuries.

Karen said Ty will continue to get the care he requires at home, as well as at East Alabama Medical Center, as an outpatient for at least a year. She said Ty is bound to a wheelchair, can’t verbally communicate and is on a feeding tube.

“He’s still not communicating with us, besides a head nod, but we don’t always know what he’s thinking,” she said. “We think he is sick and tired of being in hospitals for so long though and it is in his best interest to get him home.”

Auburn police say they know who is responsible for hitting Ty, but he has yet to be arrested or charged. Capt. Tom Stofer has said for months now that they will not arrest the 21-year-old until Ty can express his wishes on the matter.

Karen said that issue is “on hold” since Ty can’t talk and because there are more pressing issues at hand, such as getting Ty out of his wheelchair.

“With brain injuries, they don’t give you a prediction,” she said. “We have no idea what Ty will be like three years from now. We just hope he won’t be in that wheelchair for much longer.”

Police won’t release the name of the man since the investigation remains active, but Stofer said he returned to the scene about 50 minutes after the accident. At that time, his blood was drawn and sent to the state lab for testing. The driver could be charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and failure to report an accident with injuries, both of which are felonies.