DeWayne Bunch is a teacher and a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

.

Bunch teaches math and science at Whitley County High School in Williamsburg, Kentucky

Williamsburg, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,143 people, 1,928 households, and 1,127 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,102.5 people per square mile . There were 2,118 housing units at an average density of 454.0 per square mile...

. He also was a member of the Kentucky National Guard

Kentucky National Guard

The Kentucky National Guard consists of the:*Kentucky Army National Guard*Kentucky Air National Guard-External links:** compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...

 for 23 years and served a tour of duty in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. In 2010 he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives

Kentucky House of Representatives

The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...

, representing the 82nd district (Whitley County

Whitley County, Kentucky

Whitley County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. 2005 census projections list its population at 38,029 . The county seat is at Williamsburg, though the largest city is Corbin, and the county's District Court sits in both cities...

 and part of Laurel County

Laurel County, Kentucky

Laurel County is a county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 58,849 in the 2010 Census. Its county seat is London.The London Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Laurel County....

).

He sustained serious injuries on April 12, 2011, while attempting to break up a fight in the school cafeteria

Cafeteria

A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...

. It was reported that he was knocked down and hit his head on the floor, which the local sheriff described as being hard "like slate." In the immediate aftermath of the incident he was reported to be in "extremely critical condition." He was treated at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

 for more than two weeks, then was transferred to the Shepherd Center

Shepherd Center

Shepherd Center is a private, not-for profit hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1975, the hospital is devoted to the medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury and disease, acquired brain injury, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain and other neuromuscular...

, a specialized facility in Atlanta for the treatment and rehabilitation of brain

Brain injury

A brain injury is any injury occurring in the brain of a living organism. Brain injuries can be classified along several dimensions. Primary and secondary brain injury are ways to classify the injury processes that occur in brain injury, while focal and diffuse brain injury are ways to classify...

 and spinal cord injuries

Spinal cord injury

A spinal cord injury refers to any injury to the spinal cord that is caused by trauma instead of disease. Depending on where the spinal cord and nerve roots are damaged, the symptoms can vary widely, from pain to paralysis to incontinence...

. As of October 12, 2011, he was still a patient at the Shepherd Center.