Three months after taking a blow to the head during an altercation on the banks of the American River, Matthew Wright is fighting his way toward recovery, according to his family.
The 22-year-old from Sacramento is in Texas, undergoing rehabilitation at a facility that specializes in severe head trauma, said his aunt, Tammi Chase-Wright.
Wright can't talk. He can't breathe on his own, or cough or swallow. He has mastered some movement in his legs, but doctors say they expect him to remain a quadriplegic, Chase-Wright said.
"He's got fight in him. He's very strong," she said. "Only time will tell."
Family members take some consolation that Wright's alleged attacker, 23-year-old Michael Adam Minix, is facing felony charges in connection with the fight.
Minix was arraigned earlier this month on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon and another of battery, according to Sacramento Superior Court records. He was released on $10,000 bail.
Minix's attorney, Dan Koukol, said his client pleaded not guilty to both counts.
"It appears to us that … (Minix) was acting absolutely in self-defense and he was also defending other people in his group," he said. "This is consistent with the fact that Michael Minix has no prior record and was absolutely not looking for any trouble that day."
According to Sacramento County park rangers who investigated the case, Wright and Minix had been rafting with separate groups of friends June 27 and were waiting for rides at River Bend Park when the fight erupted.
A young man and woman with Minix were "play-fighting," and Wright intervened when he thought the wrestling had gotten too rough, said Ranger Bill Wetzel.
According to investigators, several witnesses said Wright threw the first punch. But witnesses also told investigators that Minix left the fight – which had grown to about 15 people – to get a large, metal flashlight from his vehicle. He struck Wright with the flashlight, according to an arrest warrant affidavit written by investigators.
"Minix claims he stood next to his vehicle and Wright approached, where Minix then struck him," investigators wrote in the affidavit.
"Witness accounts state Minix approached Wright from behind and struck him in the head with the flashlight. Several witnesses state that Minix struck Wright multiple times with the flashlight once Wright had fallen to the ground."
Wetzel said investigators interviewed nearly 30 people, including witnesses and medical professionals.
Koukol disputes investigators' version of events. He said Wright started the fight because he wasn't able to get a cigarette from a 15-year-old in Minix's group.
There is no truth to the claim that Wright was concerned about any young woman getting roughed up, Koukol said.
Investigators allege that people from both groups had been drinking. Koukol said Minix had been drinking very little because he had to work that night.
Wright was transported to UC Davis Medical Center, where he remained until being flown to the Texas facility last month.
His struggle is immense, Chase-Wright said: "But every day (his parents) remain full of hope that Matt can shock the world and prove the doctors wrong."
Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.
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