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Still in coma, woman injured in Cumberland plane crash returns home

The mother of one of the four victims of a Cumberland County airplane crash is planning a lawsuit. Jerolyn Northcutt says as her daughter recovers at Duke Medical Center, the bills are piling up and no one is stepping up to help.

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By
Gilbert Baez
, WRAL Fayetteville reporter
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A Fayetteville woman who was badly injured in a February plane crash returned home Thursday after spending five months in hospitals.
But Dominique Northcutt, 23, remains in a coma, and her mother said injuries from the crash have mangled her body.
"Both her hands are constricted. Her legs are pulled up, and her toes go down," Jeroyn Northcutt said. "Two neurosurgeons have told me that's she's going to be a vegetable. I refuse to believe that."
Dominique Northcutt was one of four people in a 1974 Cessna C172 that went down at Gray's Creek Airport on Feb. 17. She and two other students participating in a Cumberland County Workforce Development event showcasing careers in aviation were taken for a flight by a Cape Fear Aviation flight instructor.

While Leal, Elliott and instructor Jake Parsons are recovering from their injuries, doctors told Jeroyn Northcutt that they've done all they can for her daughter. They suggested putting Dominque Northcutt in a skilled nursing facility, but her mother refused.

"COVID-19 is raging in the nursing homes. I'm like 'Are you kidding me?'" Jeroyn Northcutt said. "I said, 'I'm bringing my baby home.'"

In addition to taking care of her daughter, she has been taking care of her bedridden, 78-year-old mother for the past two years. She said she's putting her trust in God.

"OK, Lord, you feel I can handle this, and I have faith in you that you're going to bring [my daughter] out of this," she said.

Jeroyn Northcutt has said she plans to sue Cape Fear Aviation, but medical expenses for her daughter continue to pile up in the meantime. Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help the family pay the bills, which include a medical bed and a hydraulic lift.

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