It’s been more than 20 years since a train smashed into a young woman’s car in Douglas County. In the decades since surviving that collision, she has turned her pain into inspiration and giving back to students in Colorado with a scholarship fund.
“Even now it’s still just, it’s still shocking,” said Maureen “Missy” Berg.
Berg, at the time named Missy Martin, was only 16 when her stalled car was hit by a train in 2002 in Castle Rock.
“Pretty brutal. As a parent, it really was a hard time,” said Dave Martin, Missy’s father.
Missy spent six weeks in a coma, and years receiving in and outpatient therapy.
“I have a traumatic brain injury and I had to relearn how to walk and talk and eat and sleep and breathe and do everything all over again,” said Missy.
But despite the odds, Missy graduated from Douglas County High School in 2004.
“I had all my credits in order. I went back for my senior year and I walked with my class.”
Missy says the community rallied around her in the years since the accident. Missy’s accident is the reason Front Street now turns into a flyover over the train tracks.
After getting her college degree, Missy used money from a settlement with Union Pacific to create the “Future Hope Foundation,” in hopes of repaying the community that supported her.
“The whole town, they just came together for me and they helped me so much and through so much,” said Missy.
Each year, she gives $10,000 in scholarships to college-bound students facing adversity.
“Every year when I meet these students and I’m just so full. You hear all their stories and how much you can help them and oh it just makes me feel amazing,” said Missy.
Counselors nominate students from across the district. Each high school in the district submits at least one; then a district committee picks five recipients, who will each receive $2,000. Missy’s only requirement? That at least one comes from her alma mater.
“At least one has to come from Douglas County High School, because it’s home,” said Dave Martin.
Today, Missy is a mother to two daughters.
“I finally sat my older one down and I explained to her what had happened, you know… why I can’t remember things. Both girls are very empathetic and they both, if we’re walking, they both grab ahold of me so that I don’t fall. They do not ride their bikes, they do not do anything without a helmet ever!” said Missy.
While she still deals with the impacts of her accident, it’s the second chance at life she fought for.
“She was a fighter, she’s strong, she came out of it, she wants to help people, and we were truly blessed,” said Missy’s mother, Becky Martin.
Missy will give the students their scholarships on Wednesday, May 16, at 9 a.m. at Douglas County High School.
Douglas County High School Principal Tony Kappas tells CBS News Colorado that Missy is one of his heroes, and it’s an honor and a privilege for the district to help Missy help these students.
