Christian Bedolla, a 21-year-old firefighter cadet, had survived a battle with cancer earlier this year. Mekahlo Medina reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
A 21-year-old Orange County Fire Department cadet who survived a rare form of cancer remains hospitalized in critical condition after he was struck by a drunken driver in Laguna Niguel.
Christian Bedolla, who had just applied to return to work with OCFA after six years of battling T cell lymphoma, is in an induced coma following the crash Tuesday night in the southern Orange community. Bedolla was with a friend, who was not seriously injured, when they were struck by a DUI driver at an intersection.
"I'm heartbroken for him. For his family," Beeta Safouri, his 20-year-old girlfriend, said Friday from his hospital bed. "Every time he picks himself back up, something else happens. He's still so positive and strong about it. I've never even seen him complain. I would. I'd be like, 'Why me, why me again?' He always says God chooses his strongest soldiers."
Every time he picks himself back up, something else happens. He's still so positive and strong about it. I've never even seen him complain.
Beeta Safouri, girlfriend
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The crash left the Ladera Ranch resident with several bone fractures, including a broken collarbone, femur, pelvis and ribs. He also suffered a brain injury.
Safouri said Bedolla was recently declared cancer-free after undergoing a bone marrow transplant nine months ago. He was 17 and in high school when he received a diagnosis of subcutaneous panniculitis-like t-cell lymphoma.
The couple had just returned from a trip to Europe. On Tuesday, Bedolla spent most of the day at his girlfriend's place before meeting up with a friend and going for a drive, Safouri said, adding that Bedolla loved to drive along the coast and on Orange County's canyon roads.
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After hearing about the crash, she went to the scene of the collision with family members, where she said her worst fears were confirmed by the sight of fire trucks and police cruisers. Bedolla has been unconscious ever since the crash.
"They say he can hears us, so I always tell him I love him," Safouri said. "Always, his worries are for other people, so I always make sure to tell him, 'We're ok, we just want you to be ok.'"
In an Instagram post, the OCFA and OCFA Cadets called Bedolla a "true warrior." His dream is to become a firefighter, family members said.
"He has a kind heart. I know he's my son, but he's full of love," said Azucena Rubio, his mother. "He cares for everyone and everything all around him. He has the most amazing heart. His dreams will come true. I have to hold on to that.
"I feel Christian is a very special boy. He's been through so much. I always told him I have fear in other people's decisions. He has this eagerness to live. Because he loved life so much, I always had a fear of him going out. People make wrong decisions, and sometimes it affects the wrong person. Like, unfortunately, what happened this time."
