A Corvallis woman who was struck by a car Nov. 8 remains in critical condition, but family and friends at Julia Penn Delacruz’s bedside at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland say she is awake and gradually getting better.

On a Web site created by Delacruz’s family, a posting on Thanksgiving described the 35-year-old woman as “conscious but not quite coherent.”

Family members said that means her eyes are open, but she is not quite alert. Her complexion has reportedly improved and her facial wounds are healing. She is moving her right arm frequently, and her grip is strong at times — and appears deliberate: “There is intent with her movements,” a friend noted on the Web site.

All of these developments likely will come as a relief to the many people who know Delacruz through her work.

Delacruz was employed as a food server at Elmer’s Restaurant on Northwest Ninth Street as well as her family-owned restaurant, El Sol de Mexico, on Northwest Circle Boulevard.

Elmer’s manager Luis Perez said regulars at the restaurant miss Delacruz.

“I wanted to let you know that you were here among us,” he said in a message to Delacruz on Thanksgiving. “Many people today asked about you at Elmer’s. Each table I visited with were grateful for news of you and how you were progressing.”

Thanksgiving would have been a big day for Delacruz at the restaurant, Perez said.

“I had to think that if you had been here today that you would have cornered me to ask me to sign off someone’s side work secretly and not let them know you did it for them,” he said. “I would have seen you bussing someone else’s tables because you noticed they were a little behind or running food for someone who needed the help in their station. I would have seen you floating from table to table, wishing your guests a happy Thanksgiving and joking with them to brighten their day.

“For sure, someone would have been on the receiving end of a beautiful craft project you would have stayed up until 2 a.m. making for them to let them know how much you cared for them,” he added.

On the day she was injured, Delacruz was walking to her second job at El Sol de Mexico — crossing Circle Boulevard just east of Kings Boulevard — at 8:52 p.m. when she was struck by a car. Police identified the driver of the car as Constance Ash, 82, of Corvallis.

Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson said the incident is still under investigation.

Family members’ Web site can be found at http://patty-julia.blogspot.com. They also established an account at Wells Fargo for anyone who would like to make contributions toward Delacruz’s medical bills.

John Peralta, in a Thanksgiving posting on the Web site, was optimistic about Delacruz’s recovery. “While I was talking to her for a good 10 minutes, all of a sudden for a brief moment she stared at me,” he said. “The corner of her lips and her cheeks moved to create a smile.

“It was not a big smile, more like a sigh of relief,” he added. “However, it was a beautiful moment. Her right eye produced a tear that slowly secreted and sat there while her eyes felt like she was talking to me. It was a moment of happiness filled with promising news.”