Sep 5, 2014 2 min read

After a stint in a Pittsburgh hospital and months of therapy and recovery, Barbara Gibbs was more than happy to return to her row office in the county courthouse.

Gibbs, 71, returned to her position as clerk of courts Aug. 26. She had been on medical leave after being struck by a vehicle June 8 in the parking lot of a Richeyville church.

“I’m very lucky,” Gibbs said about her recovery. “It could have been a lot worse. It was a long time healing, but I’m well on the way to getting better.”

State police said Gibbs, of Ellsworth, an eight-term officeholder, was walking toward her car after the morning Mass in the lot of St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church when she was struck and knocked to the ground by a car driven by 82-year-old Susan Ventura of Daisytown, whose vehicle then hit Gibbs’ car and another vehicle that had exited the church lot onto Roxy Street. Ventura was charged with careless driving.

Gibbs was taken by ambulance to Washington Hospital and then transferred to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. Police described her injuries as moderate. Gibbs said she suffered a concussion, a brain bleed and a knee fracture.

“Thankfully, it healed on its own,” she said of her knee. “I didn’t have to have surgery.”

As for the bleed, Gibbs said doctors don’t believe it will cause complications. While she’s thankful to have recovered, Gibbs said the accident has changed her outlook on life.

“It was so unexpected. It was like a dream. I can’t believe it happened,” she said. “You think this could never happen to you, but it can. We have to live every day like it’s our last.”

Gibbs said an outpouring of good wishes aided her recovery.

“I heard from so many people – coworkers, clients, friends,” she said. “The prayers and good wishes meant a lot.”