Since Tara Eichinger-Berendes survived a head-on car collision June 1, family, friends and strangers alike have given emotional and financial aid to the Los Gatos native and her family and rallied for her recovery.

Eichinger-Berendes and her husband, Josh Berendes, were driving to Colorado just 10 days after their wedding when a car crossed the highway meridian and slammed into their SUV outside of Salt Lake City. Berendes suffered only minor injuries, but his new bride sustained facial burns, a torn diaphragm, a lacerated spleen and a still-undetermined amount of brain damage. The driver of the other car died at the scene.

The young woman was in critical condition for several weeks, but doctors at the University of Utah Hospital upgraded her condition to stable June 19. Surgeons have operated on her diaphragm and performed a skin graft, and her family has now managed to transfer her to San Jose.

Unfortunately, Eichinger-Berendes did not have medical insurance at the time of the accident. She had just graduated from Colorado Christian College several weeks prior, and her husband planned to add her to his medical insurance when they arrived in Colorado.

Her father, John Eichinger of Monte Sereno, said his daughter now has Medi-Cal insurance, but that will not even cover the $10,500 air ambulance flight back home.

Meanwhile, well-wishers in California, Colorado and Utah have offered various forms of support. Members of the Colorado church where Berendes was a youth minister have put on benefit concerts and are planning a July 15 golf tournament. Salt Lake City locals who heard about the situation have offered prayers and donations.

In Los Gatos, where she was a high school basketball star, those who know Eichinger-Berendes couldn't believe the news of the accident. Sue Ann Van Epps, owner of Great Bear Coffee and Los Osos Café, said those who worked with the young woman at the coffee shop several years ago quickly felt a need to help.

"People were shocked," she said. "One guy who worked with her put out a donation can immediately."

One Great Bear employee laminated a news article about the accident, added "Help our Tara" and put it on the shop counter. Van Epps said people who recognize her, and even some who just read the story, have been generous with donations. Employees, too, have chipped in.

"Quite a few people put in half of their tip money for the day," Van Epps said. "That's quite a big sacrifice for people working a job like this."

Friends of the couple from the Los Gatos church where they met have been offering support, too. Dale Gustafson, minister to students at Calvary Baptist Church, said some young people in his program are working to organize benefit activities, but many churchgoers have been making donations to a recovery fund on their own.

"People have been very supportive," said Gustafson, who married the couple in Monte Sereno. "Some people in our church have given to the fund. People are trying to help Josh with his daily expenses."

Gustafson said he visited the hospital shortly after the accident and has been communicating with Berendes fairly often. He said the 23-year-old has been sitting by his new wife's bedside almost constantly and is doing as well as could be expected in such a situation.

John Eichinger said his daughter is gradually showing more signs that she will emerge from the coma, but so far all of her responses have been considered involuntary. Though she squeezes hands, smiles, opens her eyes and responds to pain, she has not yet demonstrated that she understands what she sees, hears or feels. Doctors told her family that she could regain a level of functionality anywhere between half and all of her previous ability.

"It's a waiting game," Eichinger said. "They know there was ... moderate brain damage, but there's no way of knowing the extent of it yet. We'll just have to wait."

Eichinger-Berendes has been transferred to Valley Medical Center but she cannot begin rehabilitation until she is able to actively participate for three hours every day.

Gordon Knight, a former Monte Sereno councilman, visited his granddaughter in Utah immediately after the accident, but her attendants at the hospital said family members wouldn't really be much help at that time.

"Where they would really appreciate the help is now, when she's returning from the coma," Knight said. "She needs to be aggressively encouraged to come out of it."

Both Knight and Eichinger said they were grateful for the strong showing of support Eichinger-Berendes has received from a diverse group of people. Eichinger said the amount of money donated so far is nowhere near the amount of costs they have to cover, but he is nonetheless touched.

"I'm extremely gratified," Eichinger said. "It's renewed my faith in humanity in a lot of respects. People are going out of their way to contribute. We've got total strangers hearing the story and making donations. It warms my heart."

But nothing is more encouraging to him than the improvement he has seen in his daughter. He said he and Knight-Eichinger, who divorced several years ago, were not sure whether they would arrive in Salt Lake City to find their daughter alive or not.

"When I first arrived in Utah, Tara was at death's door," he said. "Both the paramedics and the fire people thought she wasn't going to make it. From where we were a month ago on June 1, we're very, very optimistic. Tara is on the journey to recovery."

And if the amount of help she's received so far is any indication, Eichinger-Berendes will have many hands to hold on that journey.

For status updates and information about donations, visit http://www.tarajosh.com.