Hopkins HS student hurt in Highway 7 crash headed home for weekend, family says

HOPKINS, Minn. (FOX 9) - The family of the Hopkins High School student who was seriously injured in a crash on Highway 7 in Minnetonka has shared an update saying she will be heading home.

In a post on Lauren Olson's Caring Bridge, family members said, "Lauren is doing amazing in rehab and working so hard to get back home. She was given a day pass to come home during the day this weekend."

According to the post, she could potentially be released permanently in two weeks to continue rehab with family, and "sleep in her own room."

From there, rehab will continue to improve her mobility, speech and motor skills, according to the update.

"It goes to show what a strong determined girl can do with the love and support of her family and friends behind her," the post reads.

In previous updates, her family shared that she had been on a ventilator and feeding tubes. She also had a stent put in her head so doctors could relieve pressure in her brain.

On March 5, Olson was making a turn from westbound Highway 7 onto southbound Williston Road just before 2:30 p.m. when she was hit by a 29-year-old driver from Minneapolis, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.  Traffic cameras caught more than a dozen good Samaritans rushing over to help. 

According to a Hennepin County search warrant, the person who hit Olson's car was "driving, operating, or controlling the motor vehicle under the influence of a combination of alcohol and a controlled, or intoxicating substance." The driver also had a Minnesota Identification card status that was currently revoked.