LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Wednesday marked one year to the day since a Kansas family's story changed in an instant while walking on a downtown Louisville sidewalk.

Just days before traveling to the city for a basketball tournament, Ava Jones had just committed to play Division I basketball at the University of Iowa. On the evening of July 5, 2022, Ava, her parents Trey and Amy, and her younger brother Creek, were hit by a car while walking on the sidewalk at the intersection of South 2nd and West Market streets.

The driver, Michael Hurley, was arrested. According to Louisville Metro Police, he told officers he had taken hydrocodone and was "so tired he could not make the turn."

All four were rushed to the hospital. Creek, 10, was released with just a few bumps and scrapes but the other three suffered serious injuries. Ava, Amy and Trey endured multiple surgeries and battled for their lives in the ICU, the girls suffering from serious head trauma and multiple broken bones.

And on July 8, Trey passed away at 42 years old. Amy and Ava Jones awoke from comas only to learn about the loss of their husband and father. Trey's eldest son, Hunter, said the family found comfort in knowing Trey was an organ donor and that he would help save other lives.

With signs of construction and cars passing through, the corner of 2nd and Market streets downtown looks different than it did this time last year. While they're now hundreds of miles away back at home, the memory of what happened that day last year is still just as fresh for the Jones family.

"It's been the longest year ever, like I can imagine," said Amy Jones. "It doesn't feel real to me that he's not here, that he's not coming back."

Now, a year later, their journey of healing both physically and emotionally continues without their husband and father. 

"I'm still ... I don't know if I've really come to terms with it, that he's gone," Amy Jones said.

He was a father. 

"I'm wearing his hoodie right now and it's like, I wish I could call my dad and tell him how college is going," said Ava Jones.

He was a best friend.

"It makes me feel sad because I know, when I go out to play with some friends and come back, he's not going to be here," said Creek Jones.

He was a mentor.

"I find myself lately just, like, I think I need to call someone for help and I'm like ... I don't know who to call," said Hunter Jones.

For the Jones family, living without Trey will never be normal.

"It's still weird and it'll probably stay weird until we get used to the new weird," said Hunter Jones. "Still having all those firsts ... we're almost done with them, but all those firsts without him is hard."

HUNTER JONES THIRD PLACE NATIONALS.jpg

Hunter Jones wins third place at nationals (family photo)

From senior night, prom, and graduations.

"He's just missing out on so much, like Hunter won, or got third, at nationals and we were all there, and he wasn't," said Amy Jones. "That was something he would have loved to see."

Most times, the family said, it's the smallest things that cause some of the deepest pain.

"Now it's more like, I see deer outside on campus and I'm like oh, I wish I could send this to my dad," said Ava Jones.

As they continue to process their grief, Amy and Ava Jones said their journey to recover physically is still far from over.

"I'm like a five-year-old on the right side of my body," said Ava Jones. "It's just learning."

The two suffered traumatic brain injuries and multiple broken bones, spending weeks fighting for their lives in the ICU. They had to relearn how to walk and how to talk.

"I took speech for the cognitive part of it and I think I'm doing good," Ava Jones said. "My AC is separated, grade four. They have to go in and fix it."

For Ava, it was another surgery just this week, this time on her right shoulder. For Amy, it's more surgeries on her right leg.

"Now I'm back to where I was. Square one," Amy Jones said. "I was walking for about a month, but now I'm back into the wheelchair and using a walker."

As Ava and her mom have grown accustomed to life in and out of hospitals, the now University of Iowa athlete said she's worked to come to terms with the fact that the future she pictured for herself on the court may never come true.

"Yeah, it was and it is, since I've been here," Ava Jones said when asked if it was hard for her to realize that her dream may no longer be realistic. "Like the first couple of days, it was super hard. Seeing everyone go out and learn the game they play and how they play the game and just be sitting there watching."

The freshman said she feels she fits in well with the team. She said she has found comfort in those she has met, relying on her new teammates, and her coaches, to help inspire others and to dream a new dream for herself.

"How awesome they are and how great they've been, it changed my mindset," Ava Jones said. "Like I'm more than basketball, and that's something I had to learn. I'm growing still. I'm learning to live a life that isn't revolved around a basketball."

The man accused of hitting the family, Michael Hurley, faces murder and assault charges. He's still waiting to go on trial for Trey's death.

Michael Hurley in court

Michael Hurley appears in court on June 16, 2023. He's charged with murder, three counts of assault and operating a motor vehicle under the influence. (WDRB Image)

During a court hearing last month, Hurley's attorney requested his bond be lowered from $500,000 to just $10,000. The prosecution objected, citing the serious injury he caused to the Jones family and stating he could be considered a flight risk as a resident of Indiana.

Ultimately, Judge Annie O'Connell agreed to lower Hurley's bond to $50,000 full cash. If posted, he would be released on home incarceration in an approved treatment facility. 

The Jones family said they're concerned about what would happen if Hurley is able to get out of jail.

"I just hope, like they lowered the bail, so I hope he doesn't be able to get out and enjoy freedom while we're still suffering," said Amy Jones.

During last month's court hearing, an attorney with the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said the level of fentanyl in Hurley's system when he hit the Jones family with his car was "basically at a toxic level." He was also on probation in Indiana for drug-related charges at the time of the crash. 

"It's not going to effect us if he's free or not here, but I'm just worried about what happens there," said Hunter Jones. "It could effect more people there and that's the scary thing."

Attorneys on both sides have also requested a new pre-trial date to have more time to review body camera footage from police. 

Hurley is due back in court for another pre-trial hearing on August 15.

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