A recent Pasco High School graduate, Levi Singletary was hit by a car on Father's Day, leaving him in a coma.
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
Published June 25, 2003
DADE CITY - He loved sports, literature and drawing. Levi Singletary could quote Ernest Hemingway and lift 100-pound cheerleaders high overhead.
But on Tuesday, friends and relatives of the 18-year-old recent Pasco High School graduate continued to hope he'd open his eyes another day.
Singletary remained in critical condition at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa after he was hit by an automobile on Father's Day night.
"It's day by day, actually it's minute by minute," said his father, Walter Singletary. "He's strong. He's tough from doing his sports. He's making some baby steps. He does open his eyes. But he's still comatose."
Singletary was walking along Old Lakeland Highway near Morningside Drive - several miles north of his home on Singletary Road - when he was struck about 11 p.m. June 15, said Dade City Fire Capt. Joey Wubbena.
The driver was not injured, but Singletary, who had struck the windshield, was flown to St. Joseph's.
The Florida Highway Patrol was handling the investigation but did not provide a report of the incident.
Walter Singletary said he and his son and daughter enjoyed dinner at a steak restaurant near Lakeland that night. He didn't want to talk about what might have led to the accident. But when his son did not come home the morning of June 16, he grew concerned.
"I'd learned not to worry about him; he doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke," the elder Singletary said. "I thought he went to a friend's house to hang out."
Singletary called his son's friends. No one had seen him. But the afternoon of June 16, the worried father decided to call police. They told him there was an accident; could he help identify the victim?
Singletary phoned relatives and his son's girlfriend, who got to the hospital first to verify the younger man's identity. Throughout the week, he has shown signs of improvement.
Levi Singletary, who suffered severe leg and head injuries, opened his left eye Friday, his right eye Sunday, his father said.
Singletary said he prays every day for his son, who has been drawing since he was a young boy, who loved to borrow books from the library on Greek mythology and ancient wars.
Levi Singletary was on the high school's cheerleading squad. He worked on the school newspaper, participated on the swim and soccer teams. Soccer Coach Keith Sumner remembers hearing him talk about Hemingway on bus rides home from games.
Walter Singletary said his son talked about possibly attending the University of South Florida after the fall term. But now everything is on hold.
"Why these things happen, we don't know," Singletary said. "You just have to accept what comes your way."
