Exclusive: Woman Hit By Two Cars Speaks Out, Drivers At Large
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MIAMI(CBSMiami)---A 58-year-old Miami woman who was nearly killed in a horrific hit-and-run accident last week says it is a "miracle" that she survived and will need years to recover after being hospitalized with broken ribs and legs and a fractured pelvis and a collapsed lung.
In an exclusive interview with CBS4's Peter D'Oench, Yvette Annette Wilson Hughes said, "I'm in so much pain, so much pain. I hurt so bad. I'm real hurt."
"I can't give enough praise to the Lord that my life was spared," she said. "I was told I shouldn't be here because I was hit by two cars, not one car, but two cars. I was told one car kept going. I don't know what happened. I don't remember what happened."
"Everything in broken, my ribs, pelvis, legs, you name it," she said. "My lung is collapsed. And I have so many bumps and bruises on my head they were worried I was going to have seizures. It's a miracle. The people here at Jackson Memorial Hospital have been so awesome. They helped me from day one."
"I just want to get back to being Yvette and go back to my two corgies and my husband and his family and my son and his wife and grandkids," said Hughes."
READ: Surveillance Tape Shows Hit-And-Run Accident That Nearly Kills Miami Woman
Hughes spoke for the first time while sitting in a wheelchair inside her room at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She struggled to speak and had to take deep breaths between some sentences.
Miami Police say she was struck at 7:41 p.m. on Tuesday, February 10th while crossing N.W. 79th St. at N.W. 2nd Ct. Her husband David Nelson Jr. had safely crossed the street ahead of her. They had just gotten off a bus and were returning to their home after going to a doctor's appointment.
Hughes spoke out as Miami Police on Wednesday released a new photo of the white or silver Honda CRV that struck her and took off. A 2nd vehicle hit Hughes and dragged her but did stop.
"I don't want to look at that new photo," she said. "I can't."
Surveillance tape captured the Honda CRV which police had said was a 2002 to 2005 model with a spare tire on back of it and said the vehicle had front-end damage on the right side and may have damage to its windshield.
"It hurts my heart to know that people so evil like that can just hit somebody and keep going and they don't look back to see I was living or what," she said. "They don't care whether I lived or died. To take somebody like that and keep on going, that really hurts. It hurts because you know he was supposed to stop. It could have been a child. It could have been anybody."
CLICK HERE to watch Peter D'Oench's report
Hughes's husband said "I have to give God glory because he brought her a long way from where she was. She has recovered a lot. And to the person who did this, we forgive you but we think the right thing to do it to turn yourself in. If you have a conscience, tweak that conscience and turn yourself in."
Hughes said, "If they know anything about it, please come forward because this man, these persons, they need to be held accountable for what they have done. I don't want this to happen to anybody."
Hughes said her doctors told her she will need years of rehabilitation and therapy. She said her spirit keeps her strong.
Miami Police Detective Joseph Kennedy last week said the vehicle had tints on its windows and said it was driven by a Haitian-American or African-American male who was in his 50s and had a mid-size to heavy build. He also had a female with him and they were both well dressed.
Anyone with information should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
