The woman, only identified as Maryna, was coming home early May 15 after a night out when someone pushed threw her out of a car along Wilson Boulevard around 3 a.m., smashing her head on the asphalt and causing life-threatening injuries, an Arlington County police report said.
A GoFundMe campaign set by Maryna's sister Polina lays out the extent of the damage.
"When the paramedics arrived, her skull bone was out in the open, she had bruises, scratches, and road rash all over her body," the page says. "Doctors have performed two different surgeries on the brain right away. ... The fact that she’s young made a big difference in this case, otherwise, she wouldn’t have survived."
A spokesperson for GoFundMe verified the fundraiser's authenticity.
Polina hopes to raise $50,000 to pay for the months of treatments ahead for her sister. She's raised nearly $42,000 from 391 donors as of Monday, June 6.
The Arlington County police told ArlNow that they have not made an arrest in the case, but they are still investigating it.
Maryna and Polina are both natives of Ukraine. Polina said their father remains in their home country fighting against Russia, but their mother is now a refugee in Germany.
Maryna's church, Saint Andrews Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, D.C., shared the GoFundMe campaign on Facebook and explained how much she means to their community.
"Maryna in the parish council, (emcees) the festival, answers humanitarians center emails and phones, sings in the choir, and is loved by everyone," the post reads. "We are very saddened by what happened to her."
Click here to see the GoFundMe page.
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