The Long Island woman who was almost killed by a turkey-slinging gang of teenagers will spend Thanksgiving in the hospital with her family – but she still doesn’t know what hit her.
“She doesn’t know exactly what happened,” said Paul Feuer, a lawyer who represents 44-year-old Victoria Ruvolo. “The family hasn’t tried to tell her.”
Ruvolo’s face was nearly destroyed by a 20-pound turkey thrown into her windshield on Nov. 13.
Six teens have been arraigned.
Ruvolo, of Lake Ronkonkoma, was critically injured, suffering broken bones in her face and bleeding on the brain.
She underwent 10 hours of reconstructive surgery, and her family said yesterday that she was heavily medicated but conscious and felt “groggy and disoriented.”
Ruvolo, one of seven siblings, will spend a “quiet holiday” with family members at her bedside today, one relative said.
At least three of her sisters and several nieces an nephews were expected.
Ruvolo’s doctors at Stony Brook University Hospital have upgraded her condition from critical to serious and say the swelling in her face has receded.
Surgeons have predicted she will not be permanently scarred.
Five of the six teens charged in the prank gone wrong showed up in court yesterday, and each was assigned a future court date and a judge.
None expressed remorse after being pressed by reporters, and all remained silent in court.
Outside, two of the female suspects were seen weeping.
Ryan Cushing, who allegedly threw the turkey, remained “concerned about the victim,” said his lawyer, Vincent Trimarico. “Our prayers go out to her for a speedy recovery.”
Cushing has pleaded not guilty.