Things were bleak Nov. 30 after Audrey Marquez, a 15-year-old Avondale girl, was struck by a hit-and-run motorist while walking to school.

She was hit so hard that she somersaulted three times in the air and was thrown 120 feet, breaking both of her legs.

Audrey's life was spared, but she was expected to spend at least six months in a wheelchair when she was released from a Phoenix hospital Dec. 8 with titanium rods in both legs.

And she also expected a year of home schooling before returning to class at La Joya Community High School.

On Monday, Audrey, a sophomore at the Avondale school, marked what her proud father, Mark Marquez, described as a milestone.

She not only returned to school as a full-time student, but did so without a wheelchair or other type of walking device.

"She walks very slowly and limps a lot," Marquez said. "I feel great she has come such a long way in her recovery."

For two weeks she had been going to school for half days, but Monday marked her first full day of class, he said.

"She pretty much said, 'I'm starting back today as a full-time student,' " he said.

But it will still be months before Audrey will be able to reclaim her spot on the school's softball team, he said.

Avondale police said the hit-and-run crash occurred at Avondale Boulevard and Whyman Avenue, not far from her school.

The next day, investigators arrested a west Phoenix man, Jose Angel Montes-Chavez, 52, in the case.

Montes-Chavez, who has been placed under home arrest, was indicted Dec. 12 by a county grand jury on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident with injuries. A hearing in his criminal case has been set for Thursday in Superior Court.

In the meantime, Mark Marquez has been pushing Avondale officials to install traffic lights at the intersection where Audrey was injured.

Signals are in the works are expected to be up by this fall, according to Pier Simeri, an Avondale spokeswoman.

Marquez also said Audrey's medical bills now total about $150,000. Insurance may cover most of the tab, but he's liable for at least $30,000, he said.

He said a number of fund-raisers have been staged and have been planned to help with the medical expenses.

Marquez also said the positive things that have happened since the crash are a tribute to Audrey's determination.