On Monday, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office had the opportunity to speak with JR Shelton, who is the father of the passenger, Mateline Shelton (17 yrs), of the Volkswagen Jetta that was involved in the tragic accident the night of March 30.
The BCSO is overjoyed to announce that Western Boone High School sophomore, Ms. Mateline Shelton of Advance, is on the road to recovery. On that dreadful night, Mateline was transported emergent to the St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. Once at the hospital, doctors/nurses worked tirelessly to save Mateline’s life. Mr. Shelton advised that Mateline was said to be deceased on arrival at the hospital. He stated that if it were not for the hard-working staff at St. Vincent, he believes that Mateline would no longer be with us.
On the night of the accident, Mateline’s lungs had collapsed and filled with fluids/blood. Once Mateline arrived at St. Vincent Hospital, she had to undergo a lung bypass and had to have excess fluid and blood removed from her body. After the surgery, it was found that Mateline had also sustained a fractured collarbone. Up to today, Mateline has been on a ventilator. After speaking with Mr. Shelton, we are pleased to hear that Mateline is no longer on the ventilator and breathing on her own. Mr. Shelton advised that Mateline is alert and knows what is going on around her. However, at this time, she cannot speak.
Mr. Shelton would like all the public safety personnel, who were on-scene the night of the accident, to know how appreciative he is. He truly believes they helped save his daughters life. We here at the BCSO, along with Mr. Shelton, believe this to being nothing short of a miracle. With that being said, we ask that you continue to hold Mateline and her family up in your prayers as they continue to press on to a full recovery.