President Corey calls for prayer after student hospitalized in car accident

The student remains in a coma as of Saturday morning.

Brittany Ung and Austin Green • February 22, 2020

President Corey calls for prayer after student hospitalized in car accident

Photo courtesy of Pierce Singgih//The Chimes

Nathan Lewis, a freshman business administration major, was hospitalized and remains in a coma after suffering head trauma in an accident Friday night, President Barry Corey said in a campus-wide email on Saturday at 11:20 a.m.

The collision occurred at the intersection of Figueras Road and San Esteban Drive in La Mirada, said Sgt. Michael Rinden of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Norwalk Station.

LASD received the anonymous report at 9:05 p.m. on Friday and is investigating the incident. The report listed the collision as an injury traffic collision, not a hit and run.

Lewis was hit by a truck while longboarding in La Mirada with friends around 9 p.m. on Friday, according to a statement on his CaringBridge support page. Lewis was not wearing a helmet and suffered head and brain trauma. He was taken to the University of California, Irvine Medical Center.

“On behalf of Nathan and his family, we are calling the community to pray,” Corey said in the statement. “This is what we do. Please pray for Nathan’s healing, and pray for his family during this agonizing time of waiting at his side. We know how powerful and effective are the prayers of God’s people (James 5:16).”

Corey invited the community to pray together at the Collegium at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Grief counselors and members of Biola’s Pastoral Care team will be available at the gathering.

Donations can be made via Lewis’s GoFundMe page.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Feb. 22 at 11:56 p.m. to include Lewis’s GoFundMe page.

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About the Contributors

Brittany Ung, Web Editor

Brittany Ung is a senior journalism major who loves fine point pens and could easily beat you in a tangerine eating contest. [email protected] Hi! I'm a journalism major from the Bay Area, home of Google, Tom Hanks and probably the most (or at least the best) boba shops per capita in the nation. I grew up doing competitive speech and debate — I competed in my first tournament when I was just 12 years old, advocating for the privatization of the United States Postal Service. Diving into the study of public policy taught me that I love learning about people and how we react to the things we’re confronted with. Right now, I'm picking up as much as I can about how we blueprint the world we live in, through industrial design and city planning. When my brain is too full to learn anything else, I'll play card games, practice cooking or re-read my favorite children's books. I’m following in the steps of my mom (and homeschool teacher), herself a former news director and radio broadcaster. We’re almost opposites when it comes to personality, but we share a love for synonyms, Century Gothic and learning new things. I was previously the Chimes’ news editor and editor-in-chief, but I’m back as web editor to challenge myself to learn about multimedia, web design and audience engagement by working on our website and social media profiles.

Austin Green, Managing Editor

Austin Green is a junior journalism major who was first among his friends to predict that LeBron James would sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. When not focused on school or work, he enjoys watching sports, going to the beach or coffee shops, and hanging out with the guys on his dorm floor. [email protected] I laughed the first time I heard a former editor-in-chief use the line “once you join the Chimes, you never really leave.” Now in my third year here, it turns out the joke’s on me. After two years in the sports section, including last year as sports editor, I’m thrilled to be serving this year as managing editor to help build upon the legacy of such a great publication. My aspirations remain in sports journalism, but experience has deepened my love for dedicated local news reporting and its importance in communities. Much of my appreciation for that type of journalism came through working as a digital production intern for NBC Los Angeles last summer. There I helped cover stories such as the Trader Joe’s hostage crisis, the Cranston and Holy wildfires, and the Lakers’ overhaul of their iconic uniforms. I am so excited to help build this next chapter of the Chimes as we become a web-first publication with a deeper, dedicated focus on the communities in and around campus. I also contribute a print sports column, “Everything Eagles,” which provides a deeper look into Biola Athletics.