PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Ana Wakefield, a 21-year-old basketball player at Multnomah University, was nearly killed on Oct. 18 when a man, driving a SUV, crossed over the center line on Highway 212 and hit her head on. That man, according to Oregon State Police, fled the scene on foot.
Now, over nine months later, that suspect is in Clackamas County Jail, facing 11 charges relating to the crash.
Court documents show Sequoyha Storck, 20, was arrested on June 21, though charges in this crash were filed on Friday. Among those charges are two counts of assault, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, DUII and a third-degree escape charge from the day after the crash, the same day Oregon State Police said they had identified a “person-of-interest” in the case.
“My prayer has been the same from the start … that the person responsible will be held accountable,” Dave Wakefield, Ana’s father, said in a Facebook post, “and that no other family has to go through the pain our family has had to endure.”
Storck, according to court documents, also had an out-of-county hold in Marion County for failing to appear in court. Dave said he’s been told Storck’s next court date will be next week in Clackamas County.
Dave said his family is ready to move forward and that they want closure. Still, even though Ana says she forgives the person who crashed into her, the damage and the pain over the last nine months — and the months of recovery to come — has already been done.
“No sentence, whatever the courts give down, will ever make up for what this family and what she has gone through,” Dave said.
“They took a college athlete living on her own and living life and stripped her of everything.”
The crash
Wakefield was on her way to basketball practice on the morning of Oct. 18 when the crash happened on Highway 212 near Damascus. She doesn’t remember the crash — something she said she’s grateful for.
For two weeks, while in the Intensive Care Unit, Ana’s family didn’t know if she would live. Her entire left side was paralyzed from the crash. Since the crash, she’s had five brain surgeries and now has titanium rods in both legs.
The crash forced Ana into physical therapy for six days a week. She had to learn how to talk, walk and even eat all over again. She’s made incredible progress. She’s walking again and working everyday to build her physical and mental strength.
“I’ve been hyper-competitive since I was little and I will not quit. I will not say no,” Ana told KOIN 6 News on April 19. “Everyone who knows me knows I will work hard and go get what I want.”
At the time, Dave called his daughter’s recovery a miracle.
“I know talking to all the doctors and the therapists, what they are seeing with her it just defies the odds,” Dave said. “I attribute some to our faith and the people around her.”
Steph-Ana’s ongoing recovery
Earlier this summer, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors played in the NBA Finals, eventually sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers en route to their second-straight title.
Elsewhere, on the Wakefield’s family court, Ana was fighting in her own, personal competition. Ana said she loves watching the Warriors because they’re a team of shooters, just like her. In high school, she said she would shoot at least 5-feet behind the 3-point line. They called her Steph-Ana Curry, an homage to her favorite sharpshooter.
So, during the finals, Ana brought Dave out to the family court and told him to record her shooting. Months after she was in the ICU — back then she didn’t have any control on her left side — she challenged herself to shoot like Curry. She backed up 30-feet from the hoop — about the halfway-mark of her court — and took some shots.
“Stephen Curry is going to win his championships, but Steph-Ana Curry is going to win her championships, too,” Ana recalled.
Still, over nine months after the accident, there are still more personal championships for Ana to win.
In two weeks, Ana will be going to a brain injury rehab center for more therapy, where she’ll be “for at least two months,” Dave said.
“Ana’s biggest challenges and obstacles remain the traumatic brain injury,” he said.
Ana remains optimistic that one day she can return to the basketball court and finish her degree. She hopes to become a teacher. Back in April, however, she said she knows her brain and body need more time to heal before she can complete those goals. She said she’s a go-getter, a tenacious fighter. Her father, knowing that tenacity, remains optimistic.
“She just shines hope,” Dave said. “Her smile is contagious and you know when you walk out there and realize life has given you something terrible, you can either quit and give up or pick up the pieces and move forward and keep working hard and good things happen.”