Real estate broker left on the brink of death after teens hurled a Target shopping cart from a balcony 10 years ago says she's lucky to be alive
- Marion Hedges, 47, technically 'died at the scene' after the heavy plastic cart crushed her as she shopped with her then-13-year-old son for Halloween candy
- The mother-of-two was brought back to life by a doctor who happened to be passing who carried out first aid on her
- She spoke to the Today Show on the 10th anniversary of her injuries and she said, despite everything that happened to her, she considers herself lucky
- 'I've said to many people how lucky I am and how lucky my son was. I am the luckiest unlucky lady in the world'
- It took Hedges several weeks for her to regain consciousness and even longer to relearn how to swallow and read again
- The two boys who injured Hedges pleaded guilty - Jeovanny Rosario was sent to a group home and Raymond Hernandez to a foster home
- In 2018, Hedges was awarded $45.2 million in a civil case, but an appellate court reduced the sum to about $29 million
- Hedges recently founded a nonprofit called Sweet Returns. It’s aimed at helping underprivileged teens in a variety of ways
A New York real estate broker who survived brutal injuries when two teens hurled a Target shopping cart that landed on her from four floors and almost 80 feet down says she's 'choosing life' 10 years later.
Marion Hedges, 47, technically 'died at the scene' after the heavy plastic cart crushed her as she left a store with her then-13-year-old son for Halloween candy for poor children at the East River Plaza in Harlem.
The mother-of-two was brought back to life by a doctor who happened to be passing who carried out first aid on her.
She spoke to the Today Show on the 10th anniversary of her injuries and she said, despite everything that happened to her, she considers herself lucky.
'I've said to many people how lucky I am and how lucky my son was. I am the luckiest unlucky lady in the world.'
Hedges suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone and traumatic brain injury. She spent the next four days in a medically induced coma at Harlem Hospital. She added that at one point, her heart stopped beating.
Marion Hedges spoke to the Today Show on the 10th anniversary of being injured by a Target shopping cart two children had pushed down four stories and 79 feet
Hedges suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone and traumatic brain injury from the incident
Hedges, seen here with her husband, said that despite everything that happened to her, she considers herself lucky
Ten years ago, Marion Hedges was badly injured when she was struck by a falling shopping cart. Now she’s sharing her story with @SheinelleJones for the first time. pic.twitter.com/WOM9h6uVeo
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 28, 2021
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She lives with permanent brain damage and claimed she no longer cries or laughs.
'I couldn't take care of myself,' she said. 'You have emotional regulation problems. For 10 years I haven't cried a tear and I don't really laugh. I don't have highs and lows.'
Hedges grew up on New York City's Upper West Side, attended the Spence School and graduated from Barnard. She became a successful luxury real estate broker.
Her memories of the fateful day before Halloween in 2011 are not quite there.
'My son was standing next to me and last I remember was coming out of a store, I don't remember much else,' she said.
It took Hedges several weeks for her to regain consciousness and even longer to relearn how to swallow and read again.
She also wasn't raising her two children, as they were moved to her mother-in-law's house for some time.
Hedges, seen here in 2010 a year before the injuries, grew up on New York City's Upper West Side, attended the Spence School and graduated from Barnard. She became a successful luxury real estate broker
Hedges is seen thanking jurors after winning a lawsuit. After an appellate court downsized it, she was awarded $29 million
Hedges and her family, including husband Michael (pictured left) have started a nonprofit called Sweet Children to help underprivileged youths
The two boys who injured Hedges pleaded guilty - Jeovanny Rosario was sent to a group home and Raymond Hernandez to a foster home and were sentenced to less than two years each.
In 2015, Hernandez was arrested for a string of 14 burglaries.
Hedges hasn't heard from them but wishes them well.
'I don't think about forgiveness because forgiveness means that I had a negative energy to begin with and I don't,' she said. 'I hope those boys can find something to do to make a difference.'
'I don't believe in looking back and thinking why because there's a lot of why's in life,' Hedges added. 'I did have survivor's guilt because I thought why am I not in a wheelchair? Why wasn't my spine broken? It becomes exhausting.'
In 2011, the family sued Target, the mall and its security company for negligence, claiming the businesses ignored prior incidents involving kids fooling around with carts. They settled in 2016 but the civil case wasn't finished until this past summer.
In 2018, Hedges was awarded $45.2 million in a civil case, but an appellate court reduced the sum to about $29 million.
Hedges recently founded a nonprofit called Sweet Returns. It’s aimed at helping underprivileged teens in a variety of ways.
'We're gonna have after school educational programs mentoring and helping them to make good decisions in life,' she explained.
In the end, despite her injuries and the trauma, she's determined to make the rest of her life positive.
'I don't know why I survived, but I choose to make the most of every day,' she said. ''Some days I'd like to stay in bed, but the reality is it's a beautiful day, get going. I have to be chosen to live for a reason.'
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