Amputee injured in alleged assault speaks out against domestic violence

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – It's been nearly a month since a suspected domestic violence-fueled accident landed Faith Newsome in the hospital.

Police say Newsome was riding on the back of a motorcycle trying to get away from Brenden Cummins, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, when his vehicle struck her, throwing her from the bike and pinning her under his car.

Faith's brother, Dustin, told LEX 18 that he and some friends rushed to the scene of the accident and managed to flip the vehicle and lift it off of Faith, but her leg was almost severed.

Dustin used his belt as a tourniquet to stop his sister from bleeding. When Faith woke up in the hospital, her leg had been amputated.

“I never thought someone who supposedly loved me would do something like that. I never thought he would do this to me,” Newsome said, from his hospital bed at the UK Hospital.

The last thing Newsome remembers about the accident is turning around to see Cummins chasing her.

Waking up in the hospital, she was stunned.

“I was in extremely, extremely, extremely pain. That’s the main thing I remember,” Newsome said. “I couldn’t move an inch of my body. I just remember being in pain and it took me a long time to realize it, once I sat down and realized my leg was gone, and that's when -there that I lost it. I started crying and I couldn't stop crying. It was extremely hard.

The rashes covered 97 percent of Newsome's body, his pelvis was crushed, his diaphragm was ruptured, along with countless other injuries.

“I have about two to three surgeries a week,” Newsome said. “I'm going back tomorrow. I'm getting used to it at this point.

Newsome wishes he could go back.

“You have to be strong and walk away, and I wish I could have told myself that a year ago when I first met him because I wouldn’t be in this situation.”

In January, police arrested Cummins for strangulation. According to Newsome, getting out of a domestic violence situation isn't always easy.

“I just want to tell every girl, if you ever get the feeling, the first hint or hint that he is aggressive in any form, you need to leave while you can because a man can't change,” Newsome said.

With eight more weeks in the hospital followed by months of learning to walk again, Newsome is moving forward for her children, two at home and one, Bentley, who died in 2022.

Newsome wants to make him proud by defending himself and other victims of domestic violence.

“Most importantly, I can’t let Bentley down,” Newsome said. “Since his death, I told myself that I would be the person I should have been. I would be the person who would make him proud.

You can donate to Newsome's recovery via a GoFundMe, found here.