Portia Brown looks on as her son, Christian Jimenez, talks from his hospital room at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. Jimenez was struck by a car while waiting at a bus stop on June 3.

Angele Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Christian Jimenez awoke in a hospital bed in mid-June, unable to talk or move his head.

Days earlier, the 25-year-old Ypsilanti man had secured a second job and moved into a new apartment with his pregnant girlfriend. The two were excited for the future and anticipating the birth of their daughter.

But, in one afternoon, that all changed. The bright days ahead were suddenly buried in a hazy confusion and a realization that something had gone terribly wrong.

Jimenez and his girlfriend, Tanesha Bush, were standing at an Ypsilanti Township bus stop June 3 when a car traveling on Huron River Drive swerved out of control and came up over the curb, straight in the couple’s direction. The car struck Bush first, clipping her, before making solid contact with Jimenez.

Authorities rushed him to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where testing revealed a broken neck and jaw, facial injuries impacting his eye, and severe damage to other parts of his body.

Portia Brown, Jimenez’ mother, remembers seeing him for the first time in the hospital that day and shuddering. The image will be forever engrained in her memory, she says.

As Brown sat in her son’s hospital room Friday afternoon, holding his arm as he talked and laughed, she could only look into his eyes and be thankful for his second chance at life and the miraculous recovery that has allowed him to walk again, to talk with family and to soon be the father he so badly wants to be.

“I’m so glad I’ve got you in my life,” Jimenez said, peering through the bandages that still cover his head.

“I’m glad I’ve got you, too. I love you. I love seeing you smile,” Brown said.

From left: Jimenez talks with his cousins, Marina Brown, age 7, and Halayna Brown, age 3, sitting behind him.

Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Cards are pinned along a wall in front of Jimenez’ bed — pictures his young cousins have drawn for him. Next to them is a picture of Jimenez and Bush, taken before the accident. It isn’t her favorite picture, he says, but that image of the two of them together reminds him of the days ahead, when he’ll be out of the hospital and moving on to the life he has spent days longing for.

Though Bush suffered a fractured leg in the accident, ultrasounds have shown her baby was unharmed. She anticipates a mid-October due date, and together Jimenez and Bush have chosen their first daughter’s name: Aliyana.

“My daughter will have a story for herself because she survived something before she was even born,” Jimenez said. “There’s a lot of stories and a lot of memories in this whole situation.”

Last week, as he logged onto Facebook for one of the first times in weeks, Jimenez shared a simple message with family and friends who have followed his recovery.

“I’m alive, y’all,” he wrote.

And for now, that knowledge is enough.

Jimenez has undergone six surgeries since the accident. Doctors have used plastic surgery to reconstruct his face and have inserted titanium plates into his head. The challenge of physical therapy is a daily reality.

But through it all, he’s seen the support of family at his bedside at all hours of the day. So much so that his brother had to limit visitors in the first couple weeks after the accident.

Tanesha Bush and Christian Jimenez

courtesy photo

They now jokingly refer to him as “The Incredible Hulk” and the “bionic man” after his string of surgeries. He laughs and takes those words in stride.

“I got people that I don’t even know telling me they hope I get better. It’s just crazy,” he said. “I just hope there is more I can do for them— when I get out of here.”

Jimenez’ parents have closely followed the criminal case resulting from the accident he and Bush were involved in that June day.

Kimberly Sue Burke, 21, of Belleville, was arrested as she walked along Superior Road shortly after the crash and police say it was her Ford Taurus that veered off the road around 3 p.m. and struck the young couple.

Burke has been charged with two counts of failing to stop at an accident resulting in a serious injury and possession of a controlled substance.

She posted bond and remained free for several weeks after the crash, but was remanded to the Washtenaw County Jail this month, Chief Deputy Assistant Prosecutor Steve Hiller said Friday.

Court records show Burke was arraigned on a community corrections bench warrant at the end of July after failing recent drug tests. A hearing in the case involving the personal injury crash is scheduled for Aug. 30.

Jimenez’ mother said she has chosen to focus only on her son’s recovery and is looking ahead to how her family will be strengthened through the process.

A benefit raffle and dinner will be held Saturday from 2 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the Peace Neighborhood Center in Ann Arbor to raise money for Bush and Jimenez. The couple had to give up the apartment they moved into just before the crash and now are working through medical costs and hoping to start over.

Charles Rudd, a close friend of Jimenez, has helped sell raffle tickets over the past few days and said his friend’s recovery has been a source of inspiration.

The two have worked together for years producing music — a passion of Jimenez’ that he hopes to continue pursuing professionally, along with graphic design.

Jimenez, Rudd said, has always been the biggest motivator in their production work, and has trained himself to use industry-standard programs. Rudd anticipates the day when the two will work together again.

“He’s definitely been through a very difficult time. It’s definitely shown his strength as a person; a lot of people can’t take the hit that he took and live to talk about it,” Rudd said. “It’s moments like this that kind of define what you’re capable of enduring. They help you to see who is really there for you and who isn’t and it helps to test your strength as a person.”

Jimenez said he remembers nothing about the accident. His family has shared basic details of what happened and he’s accepted it.

For now, he’ll look to the future and says he will see small things in a whole new light. That McDonald’s burger he once thought nothing about as he stopped by on a lunch run suddenly is delicious. The feel of warm sunshine last week after months inside felt incredible, he said.

“I’m alive.”

Heidi Fenton covers police and courts for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heidifenton@annarbor.com or 734-623-4673. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.