The 17-year-old Staples soccer player pulled from a burning car wreck near Long Lots School Aug. 1 by a passerby has undergone major surgery at New York University Hospital, according to the Staples soccer Web site.
In an item headlined Rob Paniccia Ӓ04 Update, the site said Robert J. Paniccia, a striker on the Staples team who will be a senior this year, underwent almost six hours of surgery on Monday.
ԓA team of doctors inserted three plates and numerous screws in his elbow and rebuilt part of the bone, the report said. ԓThey also secured his hip and said he will begin walking soon. The prognosis is good, although therapy and recovery will take many weeks.
Paniccia, who was a front seat passenger in the car, was pulled from the wreckage by Kevin Slater, a Westport Realtor and Staples summer theater technical director. Three others in the car managed to escape with lesser injuries. (See WestportNow Aug. 1, 2003)
Paniccia transferred to Staples last year from Greens Farms Academy.
