LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — One couple said they’re lucky to be alive after their car was hit by another driver traveling nearly 100 mph, while he was under the influence in North Las Vegas, police said.
“I couldn’t move,” Yesena Lopez recalled. “And all I thought was my kid.”
Lopez told 8 News Now a normal night out on Jan. 19 turned upside down in a matter of minutes when she and her boyfriend, Anthony Figueroa, were hit by that other car at a red light.
“As soon as I saw him going down that hill,” Lopez described. “I kind of figured something was going to happen, I felt it.”
Now, as the two recover from serious injuries, they said the crash changed their entire lives.
“Something that horrendous,” Figueroa said. “You’re not going to be able to know how to react.”
North Las Vegas police said the other driver, Isaiah Joseph Armenta, showed signs of impairment and was driving close to 100 mph when he lost control and hit their car at Cheyenne Avenue and Civic Center Drive.
Figueroa and Lopez said it was nothing short of a miracle that they walked away with their lives.
“I honestly think that angels were there,” Lopez said. “Because I’ve seen the car and I see myself.”
The couple is grateful, but both told 8 News Now they were also angry when they discovered impairment was a factor.
“I was so mad when I heard when he was intoxicated and, on a substance,” Lopez said. “Because how can you get behind a wheel and be so selfish?”
They hope their story can encourage others to think twice before taking a risk.
“It doesn’t only affect your life,” Figueroa concluded of impaired driving. “But affects other people’s lives just like us.”
Lopez and Figueroa are now dealing with medical bills and can not work for months as they recover. If you would like to help them, family members have started a GoFundMe page.