Peyton Benner did not have a fun, carefree summer like some of her classmates at Yough Middle School.

The South Huntingdon girl instead spent the warm months recovering after being hit by a pickup while riding a hoverboard May 28 on the street where she lives in the village of Wyano. Her family is amazed that, after 11 weeks in the hospital and rehabilitation, Peyton, 13, is back at school and relearning how to ride a bicycle.

“It’s been crazy,” said her father, Daniel Benner. “It makes you look at things different.”

Peyton was hit and pinned underneath the pickup after the driver didn’t see her because of the low profile of the hoverboard, state police said. She was freed by troopers, firefighters and ambulance personnel and taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh with significant injuries.

Mother Betsy Ann Benner said Peyton had several fractures, including to her skull, ribs, collarbone, face and tailbone. Her spleen was removed and a lung collapsed. She was on a ventilator for 27 days, which allowed her body to begin the healing process, Betsy Ann Benner said.

After Peyton started talking again, she began therapy at a rehabilitation center before coming home Aug. 9, just in time for the first day of seventh grade. For the beginning of the school year, she has attended class for a few hours every morning and then did more learning at home twice weekly, with the goal of starting a full day in the classroom.

There is still a lot of recovery to go in between doctor and therapy appointments, but the day-to-day progress is amazing to watch, Betsy Ann Benner said.

“We were pretty sure this was going to be a very long process,” she said. “This went quicker than we thought.”

The family — including Betsy Ann Benner’s fiancé, John Earley; his daughter, Arabella, 9; and the Benners’ daughter, Jazmine, 15 — got through the immediate aftermath with a lot of community support. That ranged from donations to a GoFundMe page and firehall fundraisers to home-cooked meals, rides and prayers from neighbors and the Yough community, as well as others farther away.

“People were just like, ‘Hey, I’m coming to drop groceries off at the house,’ ” Betsy Ann Benner said. “We didn’t have to worry about food. I didn’t have to worry about being home as much.”

Peyton is back to bantering with her older sister and playing with the family’s pets. The two girls video chatted while Peyton was at the hospital and in rehab.

“I was shocked at how far she came,” Jazmine said.

Peyton plays clarinet in her school band and participated in the district’s recent band festival, shadowing high school marching band members as they moved through formations. Betsy Ann Benner said Peyton will get to play with the high school band during the district’s upcoming homecoming game.

Plus, Peyton recently got clearance to do one of her favorite things: horse-riding.

“We’re just kind of like, ‘If she wants to try something, we’ll do it with her,’ ” Betsy Ann Benner said.

The slow process of getting back to normal continues, and Peyton — who celebrated her 13th birthday last month — seems to be more outgoing and confident. In the days after the crash, her parents were glad to see her get from one moment to the next. Now she’s jumping, reading and running up stairs.

“She doesn’t miss a beat,” Betsy Ann Benner said.

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