Lancaster athlete returns home after months in hospital
LANCASTER, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Lancaster High School senior who was nearly killed in a devastating car crash is finally back home after spending more than two months in the hospital.
Lincoln Counihan, a star athlete at Lancaster High School, was severely injured on March 30 when an alleged drunk driver struck his car as he was pulling out of his parents' driveway near the intersection of Kennedy Court and Belmont Avenue. The impact left Lincoln with life-threatening injuries and a long road to recovery.
Counihan spent 64 days in the hospital and underwent 11 surgeries to treat his injuries, which included a shattered pelvis, broken ankle, knee, cheekbone, bruised lungs, and internal bleeding.
'People have come to the house now and they've asked, how is it to be home? I said the hospital was like prison, literally. You're in the same building for over two months,' Lincoln said.
Luke Darling, 43, is accused of causing the crash. Lincoln has little memory of the collision itself, a fact he says is actually a relief.
'Everything in the middle, kind of, I don't remember. Which is definitely a good thing — like, to not have to have that picture in my mind every time when I'm driving again,' he said.
Lincoln was rushed to ECMC following the crash, where a team of surgeons worked to stabilize and repair his injuries. Through it all, his family remained by his side.
'My parents were there every day. My girlfriend, my teammates, my coaches. A lot of people stopped by. They made posters and sent messages. It meant a lot to me,' Lincoln said. 'I'm still going through it, but in the back of my mind, it was always there like, OK, there's people with me to help and support me.'
On Tuesday, Lincoln returned home. Just days later, he rejoined his Lancaster track and field teammates at the Sectional Championships — not to compete, but to participate in the traditional senior lap. In a moving moment, Lincoln crossed the final 15 meters of the lap on his own two feet, rising from his wheelchair to finish the lap.
'I was looking at the calendar and I was like, I want to be home before this. I want to go to this. It was like such a big part of my life,' he said.
Before the crash, Lincoln had committed to run Division I track at St. Bonaventure University. Remarkably, the university has honored both his spot on the roster and his scholarship.
'It's going to be a long road before I'm back to where I was before, if I ever am. But I try to stay pretty optimistic about it,' Lincoln said.
Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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