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Just days after coming out of a coma, Hemet High student Helen Richardson is expected to be released from the hospital on Thursday, June14, and be transferred to a rehabilitation center to continue her recovery. Helen, 15, was the most seriously injured among the eight students who were struck by a truck outside Hemet High School on May 30. Helen had been at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley since the accident. All of the others who were injured were released within days. “She’s walking around the nurse’s station, doing spectacular feats here,” her mother, Trisha Telezinski, said. “Every person is coming in and saying ‘Wow, I saw her yesterday and what she is doing today is such leaps.’ Everyone is so excited. She is just pushing through.” Doctors said Helen had a diffuse axonal injury, which typically occurs when the brain is shaken violently and connectors between white and gray matter are torn apart. There is no way to repair the injury and it will not repair itself. At best, doctors say a diffuse axonal injury can leave a patient with small personality changes for life. At its worst, it can put patients in a permanent vegetative state. Despite the significant injury , Helen came out of her coma and spoke June 7, asking for a straw to go with water doctors were attempting to give her. The following day, she began walking with the assistance of staff and a walker, though her coordination is an issue and one side of her body is significantly further along than the other. Telezinski said Helen will likely be at a rehab center for several weeks and cautioned that the recovery is still in its infancy stages, but significant progress has been made. “I could tell she might be getting depressed … it’s cabin fever,” her mother said. “The transition to this facility will do her some good.” The accident happened when an 18-year-old Hemet High student, Daniel Carrillo, ran a red light and drove into a crosswalk filled with students, according to the California Highway Patrol. CHP investigators have concluded Carrillo was driving in excess of 50 mph in the school zone and weaving through lanes. He initially told officers that his brakesfailed, but investigators said they found no signs of mechanical failure with the 1994 Ford Ranger. CHP officials said Wednesday that the lead officer in the case is finishing up the paperwork and that information will be reviewed this week and forwarded to the Riverside County district attorney’s office, which will make a final determination on potential charges. Follow Kevin Pearson on Twitter @pe_kevinpearson or online at blog. pe.com/Hemet