Eduardo Villalpando.Photo:GoFundMe
GoFundMe
Eduardo Villalpando, 38, had just walked a group of children across the street when a Dodge Challenger jumped a curb and hit him in Lakewood on Dec. 1,CW affiliate KTLAreported.
The Dodge slammed into Villalpando after striking a Honda Pilot SUV. Surveillance video from the SuperFine Auto Spa captured the crash as the car went through a cement shopping sign and into the man, per KTLA.
“I remember floating … flying, not being in control of my body," he toldNBC affiliate KNBC. “Then I woke up on the ground a second later.”
Villalpando’s right leg was severely injured and his left leg was completely severed as a result of the crash, according to KTLA.
Maria Robles, Eduardo’s wife, said in aGoFundMepost that her husband’s leg was “pinned” and “his body was thrown 20 feet” as a result of the collision.
After the chaos, employees rushed out of the car wash to help Villalpando, per the reports.
“We don’t think we’re heroes; just the human thing to do,” Nabeel Karadsheh, SuperFine Auto Spa owner, told KNBC.
Now, Villalpando faces a “long road to recovery,” according to his wife.
“We are thankful for the carwash staff that assisted him, thanks to [the] quick action they saved my husband’s life,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We are so grateful that he is alive.”
As of Monday afternoon, nearly $20,000 has been raised.
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Villalpando said that he’s currently focused on getting stronger — and returning to work.
“It’s pretty awesome because I get to walk with all the kids and you get to see their faces and their enthusiasm for the day," he told KTLA.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told KNBC that no arrests have been made. The incident remains under investigation.
source: people.com
