Lily Irigoyen, 14, from Escondido, California, was headed to Westfield North County Mall with a friend to do some shopping on May 23 when Irigoyen’s life was turned upside down.
As she was crossing a street — using a crosswalk — a driver failed to stop at a stop sign and hit the teenager. She immediately blacked out.
Two other drivers saw what had happened and raced to help. Police later said that a female good Samaritan called 911 and contacted Irigoyen’s family using her cell phone, and a man performed CPR on the teen’s lifeless body — an act that would later turn out to have made all the difference.
The girl’s mother, Isabel Torres, remembers getting the call that broke her heart.
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“Her dad called me that she was in an accident and she was airlifted to the hospital,” she told KNSD.
Irigoyen had suffered a long list of serious injuries, including a damaged kidney, a broken arm, a broken leg, a broken hip and a punctured lung. Worst of all, she had also suffered a brain injury.
For three weeks, the teen was in a coma. Even after coming out of it, she had to stay at the hospital for six months, recovering. She finally made it home in August, and her mom has hope that she will recover.
“We’re getting there,” Torres told KNSD. “With time, I think she’s going to get better and better.”
Police later said that, while the driver who hit the teen was determined to be at fault, no criminal charges were made.
After a recent checkup, Irigoyen has a new goal: To find and thank the good Samaritan who saved her life.
“The doctor told her that everything that happened and she mentioned that, thanks to the person that assisted at the accident with the CPR, she always had air to her brain and for that main reason, they saved her life,” Torres explained.
“I just like felt, like happy, just the fact that someone had that kindness in their heart to help me was nice,” Irigoyen added. “I just want to say how grateful I am … that they helped me and that I’m alive now because of them.”
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The man is believed to be a dental surgeon, according to KGTV, though he has not yet been identified or stepped forward.
“I think they’re angels,” a teary Torres told KGTV. “God put them there for a reason … I think it’s a great time to find them, and tell them what a great thing they did … What they did was just amazing.”
“They saved me!” said Irigoyen. “They’re the reason I’m here right now … I would just hug them. No words to express how thankful I am.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
