Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

HAMILTON — A Butler County jury awarded a Franklin woman more than half a million dollars in a lawsuit against Time Warner Cable following 2004 crash that left her severely injured and in a coma for nine days.

Rebecca Nicole Cox, now 23, was struck head on by a Time Warner van on May 8, 2004, at the intersection of Ohio 4 and Keister Road in Madison Twp. The driver, Matthew E. Vornberg, was charged with a stop sign violation, according to the Butler County Sheriff's Office.

Cox and her family on Nov. 3 were awarded more than $860,000 and the insurance carriers more than $63,000 to reimburse them for medical expenses associated with her treatment.

At the time of the crash, Cox, the mother of two young girls, was unresponsive and transported by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton where she remained in a coma for nine days.

Cox's identity was unknown until her mother, Susan Cantrell, who had been searching for 19 hours for her daughter, picked up The Journal. Cantrell

recognized Cox's vehicle in the news photo of the crash and then rushed to the hospital.

Cox suffered traumatic brain injury, neck and spine fractures, collapsed lungs and numerous other severe injuries. After more than 10 surgeries, Cox continues on her long road to recovery, said Pierre Tismo, Cox's attorney of Dyer, Garofalo, Mann and Schultz law firm based in Dayton.

"This is a case where the client is going to need care the rest of her life and the jury recognized the degree of injury and pain this young woman suffered. Money can't put Rebecca back like she was, but it can ease her future discomfort, and more importantly, help her take care of her kids," Tismo said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2841 or lpack@coxohio.com.