![Diane Hubert, the mother of a missing Georgia Tech student found alive Monday morning, posted this photo of her son on her public Facebook page. “[James is] awake,” she wrote. “Running lots of tests. Pray for speedy recovery.” (Credit: Facebook)](https://www.ajc.com/resizer/v2/XFUMKOSD7AYL76DMJDBBFHNX4Y.jpg?auth=03105fd6aa5f67f87314b0311f24b57fef42e6a53e7e948fa19af0bb50855221&width=1600&height=900&smart=true)
- Bride's family donates reception meal to homeless after groom cancels wedding
- Teacher's aide lauded as hero for thwarting alleged kidnapping attempt
- Police: Florida woman mixes up gas, brake pedals, causing crash that killed infant, father
- Agitated' Aer Lingus passenger reportedly bites man, then dies on flight
- Recall Alert: Mislabeled acetaminophen could lead to liver failure
Georgia Tech student James Hubert remained in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital Tuesday, recovering from a long list of injuries his family said he suffered when he was attacked and beaten Friday night.
Hubert, a 24-year-old aerospace engineering major from metro Atlanta, was reported missing when he didn’t return home following a Friday night sorority formal at an event space in northwest Atlanta.
A group of friends and classmates using the “Find My iPhone” app to track him found Hubert Monday morning in a ditch along railroad tracks off DeKalb Avenue in northeast Atlanta. He was badly hurt but alive.
Monday night, Hubert's mother listed her son's injuries on Facebook: paralysis on his left side, blood on the brain, broken vertebrae, broken ribs, broken scapula and punctured lung.
But he is responding to family and friends, flashing a peace sign to his brother and stroking a friend's beard in a photo and video posted on social media.
Diane Hubert said she was hopeful the paralysis would be temporary.
She said her son was in “a lot of pain but on morphine and resting.”
Hubert left the formal alone and was taking MARTA home, but was “jumped, beaten up, robbed and left for dead,” Diane Hubert posted on Facebook, adding that he was not drunk or high on drugs when he was attacked.
At a news conference shortly after Hubert was found Monday morning, Atlanta police Lt. Charles Hampton said while investigators had not found any evidence of foul play, Hubert has not been coherent enough to tell detectives what happened.
“Once he gets to a state that we can interview him, we will ask him more information to further our investigation,” he said.
Georgia Tech police Chief Robert Connolly Monday praised Hubert’s classmates for not giving up on their friend.
“The students rallied together and then they started searching,” Connolly told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The students stayed out until midnight [Sunday] night, putting out pamphlets and combing the area, anywhere they could possibly find [cell phone] pings along the route.”
The students “were not going to stop,” Connolly said. “They checked every hospital, every hotel, they checked everywhere. They didn’t give up on their friend.”
About the Author
