Family of teen who survived weekend car wreck shares her story – and way to lift her spirits

Sydney Hybertson always carries her phone.

Except for over the weekend, when it suddenly quit working.

So it wasn’t with her when Saturday became Sunday as the 17-year-old’s friends encouraged her to grab some late-night Mexican food after playing basketball.

“She always calls when she’s going to be late,” her mom, Karla, said. “Always.”

But this time, without a phone and after midnight, there was no way to track her. And Thomas and Karla Hybertson are the sort of parents who don’t go to sleep until the kids are home for the night.

“So I’m stressing out and calling her friends, and they said she left an hour ago,” Karla said.

“Little did I know, she was eight blocks from my house, being extracted from a vehicle.”

Shortly after that came a call from the Sioux Falls Police Department.

Sydney had been in a car accident, the officer told her parents. She was on her way to the Sanford USD Medical Center.

“And that’s all I knew,” Karla said. “They said she was in and out of consciousness.”

News reports have helped them piece together what had happened. Sydney had been traveling on Minnesota Avenue south of 57th Street when a car of nine juveniles struck her going north in the southbound lane. A 14-year-old girl later was arrested on multiple charges.

The statement from police noted that the 17-year-old victim in the other vehicle – Sydney – had non-life-threatening injuries. And that’s true. But they absolutely were life-changing injuries.

Next week, Sydney, who is going into her senior year at Harrisburg High School, was getting ready to verbally commit to a college basketball program. She was planning on a summer at the pool, traveling to tournaments with her basketball team and finding a job.

Instead, she’s home recovering from a concussion, badly broken arm, burns and abrasions.

Her parents know it could have been much worse.

“It’s amazing to me her legs weren’t crushed and she doesn’t have internal injuries and her face isn’t bashed in,” Karla said.

There’s one reason why, she insisted.

“She always wears her seatbelt,” Karla said. “We engrain that in our kids. We’ve always told our kids it’s not always about how you drive. This could be you. It could be anybody’s kid.”

Many people might not have had a seatbelt on going just a few miles home, in the very early morning hours with few others on the road, she continued.

“I think it was just a God thing and having the wherewithal to put her seatbelt on saved her life or saved her from a more catastrophic accident,” Karla said.

But here’s the other thing you need to know about Sydney: She knows how to be a survivor.

At 13, a joint condition involving blood flow to her cartilage forced her to go through surgery on her right elbow and both knees. She spent a month in a wheelchair. She taught herself to walk again.

“She’s always been an avid athlete,” Karla said.

The surgeries meant volleyball and softball were out.

“Basketball was all she had left, really,” Karla said. “She had to build herself all back up.”

She taught herself to shoot with her left hand. She was playing the best basketball of her life, Karla said.

And the accident broke her left arm.

“It is so unfair,” Karla said. “And that’s how she’s feeling.”

Which brings us to this Sunday, June 20, when Sydney will turn 18 years old — and when her family hopes their community might help lift her spirits.

They’re asking for birthday cards to help their daughter mark her milestone birthday. They can be sent to:

Sydney Hybertson

PO Box 90533

Sioux Falls, SD 57109

“She’s a fighter. She’s a tough kid,” Karla said.

She has visions of being a doctor, her mother continued.

“I feel she’s a girl who’s got goals and dreams,” Karla said.

“I was hoping through the birthday cards that it would cheer her up and inspire her to maybe try for that epic comeback, try one more time.”

She posted the ask on social media, hoping for 100 cards, and instead saw her post shared hundreds of times in a matter of hours.

“Everybody wanted to know what happened to the girl in the car that got hit. I don’t think I had a real understanding of how many people were invested in the story,” Karla said. “We just feel very fortunate the outcome is such that she’s alive.”

The family has set up a recovery fund for Sydney. To contribute, click here.