Raphaela Cristeli, Isla Clarke and Sophia Carolino are pictured in this photo shared on the GoFundMe page set up to aid Cristeli.

The Hopkinton teen who suffered severe injuries after being struck by a car on July 4 is showing signs of improvement, according to a close friend who has been visiting her in the hospital for weeks.

Raphaela Cristeli, a 16-year-old Hopkinton High School rising junior, was hit by a car while walking across the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge on the afternoon of July 4. She was there to attend an annual Independence Day weekend celebration with friends, according to classmate Isla Clarke, who was with her at the accident scene.

Clarke organized a GoFundMe for Cristeli and said she has visited her nearly daily since the accident. She gave an update to the Independent on Thursday afternoon regarding Cristeli’s condition. In a text message exchange, she stated that Cristeli is showing increased signs of awareness. Her friends have been visiting her at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.

“They took her off of the medicine that was keeping her in a medically induced coma, so right now it’s just her trying to wake up on her own,” Clarke explained. “She can hear and feel, so we’re letting close friends visit her because the doctors said it’s calming for her to know that her friends are there.”

She added: “Since she can’t fully see anything yet, we’ve just been trying to explain to her where she is and make her super comfortable.”

Earlier in the month, Cristeli had surgery to stop internal bleeding, according to Clarke. She also had separate operations on her stomach, brain, pelvis and hips. Her spleen was removed.

Clarke shared a moving moment she recently had with Cristeli that demonstrated signs of recovery.

“I told her the other day, ‘It’s Isla,’ and she tried to open her eyes,” Clarke stated. “Then she waved to me and grabbed my hand. And I asked her to rub my hand if she could hear me, and she started rubbing my hand with her thumb.”

The GoFundMe organized by Clarke raised $43,251 as of Thursday at 4 p.m.

“I love going through the list of donations to the GoFundMe because I see so many familiar names,” she added. “It just shows how much everyone cares for her and how much support she has.”

Clarke added that several small businesses donated “a lot of their proceeds” to the GoFundMe over several days. She called the effort “a huge success.” She also praised Hop-Yo, the popular frozen yogurt shop on Main Street, for holding a two-day fundraiser for Cristeli.

“Rafa is going to be so happy,” she noted.