The homecoming of a Mount Carmel High School cheerleader seriously injured in a traffic collision on the way home from a football game involved smiles, hugs, and a few tears.
Isaac Coulapides, 16, of Sabre Springs, was paralyzed in the Oct. 6 crash. The high school junior was driving home from a school football game when his vehicle crashed into an embankment on Sabre Springs Parkway.
Coulapides underwent surgery and was diagnosed with two crushed vertebrae and a fractured sternum.
While managing the immediate medical issues of their son, his family also began work renovating their home to be more welcoming to a wheelchair.
Over the holiday weekend, Coulapides returned home from the hospital to see a newly designed space with new flooring and a bathroom and closet area he can easily access.
The work was organized by the group Savvy Giving by Design which is a non-profit organization that works to help families with a child facing a medical crisis by transforming the interior spaces of their homes at no cost to them.
There were several fundraisers held by local businesses to support the Coulapides family and there is an online fundraising page created to help with medical expenses.
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Coulapides and his family are part of Canyon Springs Church in Scripps Ranch and have received an outpouring of support from strangers in the community.
Law enforcement officials say the crash was caused by excessive speed. Drugs and alcohol weren't involved.
Coulapides' mother told NBC 7, the night of the accident her son was wearing his seatbelt and was not driving and texting because he had left his phone at home.
