A 9-year-old Baldwin boy remained in intensive care Thursday at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., with injuries he suffered in a two-vehicle wreck earlier this week on U.S. Highway 59 south of Lawrence.

Matthew Michels’ 25-year-old sister, Chantel, said her brother’s eyes were still swollen shut and doctors were monitoring to make sure his brain didn’t resume swelling. But she said he showed signs of progress Thursday and was taken off a breathing machine.

“God’s watching out for him,” she said.

Matthew’s mother, 46-year-old Diane Michels, also remained hospitalized at University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., with fractured ribs and pelvic bones. Five other people injured in the wreck – including Matthew’s siblings Caleb, 12, Cara, 6, and Faith, 3 – have been released from the hospital.

The accident happened about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Pleasant Grove curve when a northbound 1996 Dodge Caravan traveled left of center on the curve and struck the Michels’ southbound 1993 Mercury passenger car, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

The wreck stopped traffic for nearly two hours.

The driver of the Caravan, Maria M. Sprinkle, 41, Ottawa, and a passenger, Maria Ramirez, 10, Ottawa, both were treated and released at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.