In his three years working as a crossing guard for his son’s school in Lakewood, Eduardo Villalpando never imagined he’d potentially not be able to walk away -- that is until the day he was hit by a car that crashed, causing him to lose part of his leg.
“I remember floating … flying, not being in control of my body. Then I woke up on the ground a second later,” Eduardo Villalpando recalled from his hospital bed in an interview with NBC4.
Surveillance video from a car wash on the corner of Pioneer and Centralia Streets showed the moment a Dodge Charger traveling on Pioneer Street hit an SUV that was turning left onto Centralia Street. The powerful impact forced the Dodge to go up the curb and right into Villalpando, who was standing on the corner of the sidewalk during the last minutes of his Friday shift on Dec. 1.
“Hit me, put me through the retainer wall of the car wash and I flew about 20 feet, landed in between a car and a car wash vacuum,” Villalpando said.
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The video showed employees from the Superfine Auto Spa car wash rush out to the commotion. An employee named Victor grabbed a belt and applied a tourniquet to Villalpando’s leg while another tried to console him.
“It's what saved my life … waiting for the paramedics to get there,” Villalpando said.
“We don't think we're heroes; just the human thing to do,” car wash owner Nabeel Karadsheh said. “Everyone jumped into action and did their part.”
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When Villalpando left in an ambulance, the car wash crew then consoled his parents, who had shown up and had no idea if their son was going to be okay. The video shows one employee helping his mother and another employee get his father a chair.
“They saved my son’s life. I can’t repay that with anything,” his mother, Maria Villalpando, told NBC4 after she brought the staff lunch to say thank you a week later.
Villalpando lost his left leg in the crash. Doctors said he will be able to walk again with a prosthetic leg, however.
“My left leg was amputated. My right leg, they were able to save it. They put the pins and the screws,” he said.
His wife said the community is carrying them through.
An online fundraiser has been set up to help the family with their medical expenses, and it's already raised more than $10,000.
“All the supporters, we just want to give thanks,” Maria said. “We're blessed that he's here with us and we could just spend Christmas and other holidays together.”
Moments just before the crash occurred, Villalpando said he had walked his last group of kids across the street. He said he can’t help but be grateful.
“I do know a couple of those kids, they’re in my son's class. So if it had to happen to somebody, I'm glad it happened to me,” he said.
Villalpando and the car wash employees said the intersection at Pioneer and Centralia is an extremely dangerous intersection, with people speeding and driving distracted.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it is investigating the crash to determine if either driver was speeding, but no arrests have been made. Those involved in the crash are cooperating, according to the department.
When asked about any safety changes to the intersection, LASD said it would have increased patrols and traffic enforcement near the intersection, but it would have to get together with the city for further changes.
