Hit-and-run victims focus on recovery

Seniors Rebekka Peterson and Nicholas Bergeland are both out of the hospital nearly three months after a hit-and-run driver injured the two as they got out of a cab on the 1900 block of Grand Avenue.

Peterson and Bergeland each have rehabilitation and surgeries in their future, but Dean of Students Karen Lange said their recoveries are “remarkable.”

“It’s really a miracle how they survived and flourished,” Lange said. “It’s just very impressive, but they worked hard to get there.”

Peterson’s mother, Susan Peterson, said her daughter’s rehabilitation is now focused on improving her speaking and reading abilities.

“She’s doing really well with knowing where she is spatially and physically, and she’s able to walk and all those great things we weren’t that sure of at first,” Susan Peterson said. “She’s only in week four of the re-learning process, but we’re optimistic.”

Peterson and Bergeland were both St. Thomas seniors at the time of the incident, and Susan Peterson said her daughter hopes to eventually complete her final credits.

“Her goal is to go back to school for J-Term next year and hopefully get one class done, then finish the other four and hopefully graduate just one year later,” Susan Peterson said. “But we’ll see what that has in store for her.”

Denine Bergeland, Nick Bergeland’s mother, said her son also plans to finish his schooling, and that he is currently working on his physical strength at a facility that will help him return to college.

“We are so encouraged with what we’re hearing and what we’re seeing. We believed that Nick has truly been blessed,” Denine Bergeland said. “We are expecting that he will return to school; we just don’t know when.”

Denine Bergeland said she couldn’t express how grateful she is for the support her family has received.

“I personally want to thank everybody who has prayed for us because I really believe that was the difference,” Denine said. “If anyone is looking for an affirmation of faith, this is a faith story as much as it is a story of healing.”

There are CaringBridge websites where family and friends post additional updates about Bergeland and Peterson’s recoveries.

An arrest was made in late November in connection with the hit-and-run, but St. Paul Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Paul Paulos said the case is currently still under investigation.

“Investigators continue to look at leads,” Paulos said. “By no means is this a stale investigation, and hopefully something will come up here in the near future.”

Molly Sigler can be reached at sigl1215@stthomas.edu.