FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Ugo Nwagbara shares pictures of his aunt Bertha Jones who is still in critical condition after a car slammed into the 67-year-old at a bus bench last week in Fort Lauderdale. The accident happened on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when a car crashed into a bus stop on West Broward Boulevard just after 10 a.m.
Nwagbara is in Fort Lauderdale from New York to help Jones through what has already been a series of procedures with more surgeries to come.
He says his aunt had both legs amputated due to the crash. He says she also suffered two broken arms, a broken cheekbone, a broken collarbone, a broken jaw and also has an infection.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the woman’s mounting hospital bills and related travel expenses for the victim’s sister and Nwagbara who have left their jobs in New York to stay in Florida care for their aunt.
The family said Jones is homeless, something they didn’t know until the crash. Nwagbara said she had told her family that she was staying at a senior center. Now, they also have to figure out how they can get her long-term care after her release.
Nwagbara said his aunt is loving, resilient and a fighter.
Initial reports at the scene said a red van and silver car collided at Broward Boulevard and Northwest 15th Avenue before the silver car careened into a bench where two women were sitting, waiting for a bus.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department issued a statement saying that the crash is “still under investigation therefore charges/citations are pending. The cause of the crash will also be determined in the investigation.”