Baby Recovering Well From Crash Sunday; Mother's Funeral Today

Less than a week after the loss of his mother in a tragic car accident on Highway US 67, two-year-old James Abney is out of the hospital and recovering well, his grandmother, Robin Abney, reports.

Abney was transported to Shannon Medical Center via air ambulance, Arimed 1, just after 3:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 13, after the crash that claimed his mother’s life. The child suffered several injuries in the crash and was immediately listed in critical condition, however by the following Monday night the medical team at Shannon was ready to release him back to his family.

“One of the ladies that was on the helicopter—because they life-flighted James—said that he was the best baby they’d ever had,” his grandmother said. “He cried in the car, but he never cried in the helicopter, he never cried in the ER. He was there by himself because it was just him and his mom in the car so no family members could go with him, so he’s there in a helicopter with strangers and he just did everything they said and talked to them. I thought that was kind of cool.

He’s doing very well,” she continued. “He’ll get staples out of his head Monday. He has a cast on his left leg and right arm, but he’s learning to work around those. All the doctors have said that he should heal great since he’s just 2 and all his bones should heal good.”

Abney said the only area of concern is a growth plate on her grandson’s ankle, but states that doctors are keeping an eye on it and they don’t anticipated him having any permanent disabilities as a result of the injuries.

“He’ll have a big, nice scar on the top of his head,” she said, “so daddy’s just going to shave his hair and grow to love those scars, he says.”

James was the first and only child born to Brooke and Dustin Abney. Since the death of his wife, Dustin has been having a hard time, his mother said. He looks at James when he starts to fall apart. James, she said, hasn’t really fully understood yet that his mommy is missing.  

“We distract him a lot,” his grandmother said. “He has a counseling appointment next week, so they’re going to help us figure out how to really talk to him about it. There’s been so many people around that there’s been so many people that have been distracting him.”

Since the accident, the Abney’s have seen a great outpouring of support both in San Angelo and in Rowena, where Brooke is from. The rosary for Brooke Abney is scheduled for Friday evening and the funeral will take place on Saturday in Rowena.

Lange Funeral Home of Ballinger will be handling Brooke Abney’s service and a local church has provided a house for those traveling there for the funeral.

Pausing briefly through audible tears, Robin Abney recalled her daughter-in-law:

“She was an amazing mom,” she said. “Always had a smile on her face, very loving and caring. [The hardest part is] that she’s not going to be here to raise James and take care of my son. She was perfect for him.”

Since the accident, an education fund has been set up for James in San Angelo and in Rowena. Robin Abney said the family has received several donations thus far, which her son is managing, and that the family thought that focusing on education is important.

Abney said the family greatly appreciates the support they’ve received from the communities and friends over the past week, and wants to extend a special thanks to “the first responders, Shannon Medical Center, the ER and the Children’s Ward, the doctors that worked on James,” she said. “All of them were super-amazing in this situation.”

Just before hanging up the phone, Abney took another deep breath. “Please drive safe. Please be careful. Two seconds is all it takes,” she said.

Donation can be made to the James L Abney Education Account at the First National Bank of Ballinger at P.O. Box 680, Ballinger, TX 76821 or the Bank of San Angelo at 2635 Valleyview Blvd, San Angelo, Tx 76904.