GREENFIELD — A fundraising drive for the Rhode Island family involved in a serious two-vehicle crash along Route 2 earlier this month is seeking donations as the family recovers from severe injuries.

Westerly, Rhode Island residents Steve and Stephanie Sojkowski, along with their two children, were headed home from a ski trip at Berkshire East Mountain Resort when their vehicle was hit head-on by an allegedly impaired driver near Longview Tower on Route 2 on March 12. All four family members sustained serious injuries. Javery A. Hattat, 32, of Bennington, Vermont, pleaded not guilty in Greenfield District Court the next day on 11 counts related to driving under the influence of drugs.

Steve Sojkowski is now staying at a rehab facility in Westerly, having broken his nose, ribs, knee cap and toe. He said Monday that he is working on taking “shuffle steps” in an effort to “get back to a full stride.” His next goal, he said, is to make it up a step of a staircase.

“I’m doing OK,” he said. “Mentally, I’m still trying to make sure I’m managing how my kids are doing and how my wife is doing.”

The children, Maya, 9, and Jeffery, 12, were “badly bruised” from the crash, but were discharged from the hospital the following weekend. They temporarily stayed at Springfield’s Ronald McDonald House, which Sojkowski said was an “amazing” experience, before going home to stay with their grandmother in Westerly. Now, they are in the process of easing back into school, where they attended a few half-days last week.

Meanwhile Stephanie Sojkowski remains at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where she was airlifted from the scene of the crash, due to the severity of her injuries. She also suffered a setback last week when a hernia, caused by the impact of her seatbelt, was discovered and she needed surgery to have it removed, her husband said.

“Unfortunately, Stephanie suffered the most serious injuries,” wrote Lauren Machnik, Stephanie Sojkowski’s coworker who organized a Meal Train fundraiser for the family. “She sustained many broken bones including her neck, back, femur, pelvis, arm and sacrum. She has broken ribs and orbital bones, as well as broken bones involving her sinuses.”

“It’s good to see our progress every day, but the realization is that it’s definitely going to be a long road,” Steve Sojkowski commented.

Stephanie Sojkowski is a longtime math teacher at East Lyme High School in East Lyme, Connecticut. According to her husband, her students have sent cards, helped raise money and have otherwise “been amazing, which is an understatement.” The broader community in East Lyme — as well as those in Westerly and Greenfield — has shown an outpouring of support as well, he said.

Currently, the Meal Train fundraiser organized by Machnik has raised more than $40,000 in monetary donations and has booked out meal deliveries through the majority of April. The fundraiser continues to accept monetary donations as it approaches its $50,000 goal, as well as food and beverage donations that can be sent to 10 Moriah Drive, Westerly, Rhode Island. Money will be put toward hospital bills and purchasing equipment needed for mobility assistance once Stephanie Sojkowski is home. In terms of supplies, the family is not only collecting food for themselves, but food and cat litter for their three cats. Further information and more donation options can be found at mealtrain.com/trains/321811.

“We can’t thank you all enough for the overwhelming outpouring of love and support you have given us,” Steve Sojkowski wrote in an update to the Meal Train posting. “I write this with tears in my eyes. I simply wanted to make sure there were some easy meals for my kids at home while Steph and I heal. What we are receiving is beyond words.”

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.

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