Josh Berendes and Tara Eichinger-Berendes were en route to their new Colorado home June 1 when another vehicle on Interstate Highway 15 near Salt Lake City lost control, crossed the median and slammed into the couple's SUV. Berendes was able to punch through a window and escape from the car, but his new wife was trapped in the vehicle. The driver and sole occupant of the other car was killed.

The 20-year-old woman's life may have been saved thanks to swift action by a few witnesses. Several helped extinguish fires, and one man even used his truck to ram the SUV away from the other flaming car. But Eichinger-Berendes received extensive head trauma and her brain is swollen as a result.

Understandably, John Eichinger said his family has been deeply shaken by the accident that put his daughter in a coma. He and his wife, Ann Knight-Eichinger, will likely move to Salt Lake City while Eichinger-Berendes is still rehabilitating.

"It's very difficult to deal with," he said. "But we're coping. We're strong people. We will get through this."

Berendes suffered a broken clavicle and other minor injuries, but Eichinger said his 23-year-old son-in-law is more "emotionally devastated" than anything else.

Doctors have been blunt with the Eichingers about the young woman's prognosis. They told them she will either wake up or she won't, and if she does, she may not be the same person her family knew before the accident, at least temporarily. With many coma patients, they said, a year may pass before they regain 90 percent of their brain's former usage, and they often need to relearn basic tasks like walking and talking.

Eichinger-Berendes attended Los Gatos High School but took high school equivalency exams at age 16 to attend college early. She earned a degree in psychology May 5 from Colorado Christian University. She and Josh wed May 22 in the backyard of the Monte Sereno home of her grandfather, Gordon Knight.

Though Berendes and his wife's family are facing a grim situation, the family's faith is helping them cope. Berendes had a job as a youth minister lined up, and the couple met at Calvary Church in Los Gatos.

"We heard one person say, 'Lord, we know you have a plan for this. We don't know what it is, but so far we don't like it,' " Eichinger said.

Eichinger-Berendes is still in a coma, but doctors and nurses at the University of Utah Hospital where the young newlywed is being treated said she was responding well to stimuli such as light and touch. Still, her medical expenses are expected to reach approximately $1 million.

Eichinger has set up a website, http://www.tarajosh.com, in order to provide information and updates about the couple. Donations to help offset the family's medical bills may be made through the site.