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Plano East teacher seriously hurt in crash
A beloved special education teacher at Plano East High School is in the hospital recovering after a motorcycle crash while on fall break. Anthony Ruttenburg is known for starting the Panther Pride basketball team for students in Plano with special needs.
PLANO, Texas - A special education teacher in the Plano Independent School District is recovering in the hospital after a bad crash left him with multiple broken bones.
Anthony Ruttenburg teaches at Plano East Senior High School.
He was on fall break last Tuesday when he went out for an afternoon ride on his motorcycle along Highway 78 in Sachse.
That’s when Sachse police said he collided with a vehicle that turned in front of him at an intersection.
The driver of the other vehicle stopped to help, and Ruttenburg was rushed to Medical City Plano.
"I’m over here panicking. I am like, ‘Is he alive? Is he okay?’ That is the worst thing you want to hear. I am scared. I am grabbing my other brother, Anthony. I am like, ‘We have to go. We have to hurry,’" said Alaira Ruttenburg, his daughter.
Ruttenburg’s daughter said he was just barely conscious when she first saw him. He recognized her but wasn’t able to talk much.
Doctors said the 46-year-old father of three suffered multiple broken ribs, a pelvic fracture, a spine injury, torn ligaments, and a shattered collarbone, which required surgery.
Ruttenburg, a longtime special education teacher, is known across the special needs community in North Texas.
He started his own basketball team called Panther Pride for special needs students in Plano.
His own 18-year-old son, Anthony Jr., has autism. Family members said he’s been the most concerned.
"He is literally texting every day like, ‘Hey, Dad. When are you coming home? I am ready to see you,’" his daughter said. "I didn’t know if I was going to get his dad back that day. When you are there, watch your surroundings. Be careful. Be cautious."
Ruttenburg is making progress at Medical City Plano and is now enrolled in rehab.
But his road to recovery will be long. He could be in rehab for the next three to four months, and learning to walk again could take up to a year.
It’s unclear when he will go back to teaching.