Skyline High School student in critical condition after crash

Peter Bauer of Ann Arbor said his daughter, Elizabeth Bauer, 16, is improving day by day.

“She’s out of the woods,” he said.

He said his daughter, known to her friends as Lizzie, has had reconstructive surgery on her nose as well as surgeries to repair her spleen and treat her collapsed lungs. She was listed in critical but stable condition at Hurley Medical Center in Flint on Wednesday afternoon.

Bauer, who was heading to the hospital Wednesday afternoon, said he thought hospital staff members were going to try to help her stand up today. Lizzie’s mother has been staying with her since the accident, he said.

Bauer was a passenger in a car driven by Ryley James Oben, 17, of Flint. Police said Oben ran a red light at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday in the city of Burton, and the Pontiac Grand Prix he was driving collided with a Chevrolet Impala in the intersection.

Bauer was the only one transported by ambulance after the crash, a police report shows. It also said neither alcohol nor drugs were factors in the crash.

Bauer, Oben and the three occupants of the other vehicle were all wearing seatbelts, the report indicates.

Peter Bauer said his daughter was in the Flint area last weekend visiting a friend who lives there and also is friends with Oben. He said she’s received a tremendous amount of support from the Skyline school community.

Lizzie, who plays lacrosse, got a visit from the Skyline lacrosse coach David McKinnon, Monday, Bauer said. He brought a poster to the hospital signed by her teammates. Many friends have also called or visited, Bauer said.

McKinnon said, though Bauer was enduring pain from her injuries, she was her typical self during his visit, asking about her teammates. "She had not a care in the world about herself," he said. "All she could say was, 'Hey, I love you guys."