Encinitas
A walkathon in the Los Angeles area over the weekend generated more than $60,000 to help pay for the rehabilitation of an Encinitas teen-ager who suffered massive brain damage when she was hit in the head by a wood plank tossed by some youths in a pickup truck.
The walk for Jennifer Pratt, 18, was organized by Tiffany Harris, a Los Angeles actress who played the role of the teen-ager in an episode of the television program “Unsolved Mysteries.â€
More than 200 people gathered Saturday at the foot of Santa Monica Pier for the 6-mile walk, which raised about $64,000 to pay for the rehabilitation of Pratt, who doctors say now has the mind of a second-grader. Her parents’ insurance had run out earlier this month.
“I’m thrilled. It was an incredible day,†said Harris, 26, a struggling actress at the dawn of her career. “It was exciting to see it all come together. It gave the community a chance to make a difference.â€
Pratt was riding on the back of her boyfriend’s motorcycle late one night in 1987 when someone in the back of a pickup tossed a 2-by-4 at her.
The youngster suffered massive brain injuries and was comatose for weeks but is now making steady progress. Her assailants have yet to be caught, despite rumors that have spread throughout the Encinitas area about the identity of the assailants.
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