Nearly eight months to the day Emily Brong was seriously injured in a car crash, she valiantly returned home to Palmerton, and was greeted with a hero's welcome.

Fellow high school classmates lined up along the 200 block of Delaware Avenue on Sept. 18 to greet Emily, a junior at Palmerton Area High School, upon her arrival into town.Several firetrucks accompanied Emily, 16, as she was driven home by her mother, Beth Brong.Emily had been hospitalized and in Good Shepherd Rehabilitation ever since she was seriously injured in a car crash on Jan. 19 in Franklin Township.She was one of four passengers in a car driven by fellow high school student Liz Heffley, whose car was hit by another teen driver whose car slid on ice.Heffley's car was pushed off into another car, which is what caused extensive injuries to Emily, who was sitting in the front passenger seat when the crash occurred.As she returned to her home on Columbia Avenue, Emily was welcomed by family and friends who showered her with attention.Terry Ahner