HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Ana Verastegui is a fighter. She lost the lower part of both her legs. She does believe in miracles.
“God has plans for me,” she says.
Verastegui was sitting outdoors for dinner at a table at The Bang Shack on Nov. 2 around 8:40 p.m. with her fiancée, Marcelo Santolalla, when she was plowed into by a car that ran onto the sidewalk.
She had just returned from a trip from her native Peru, where she has two sons, 21 and 14. She and Santolalla had just come back to the States a week before the crash.
The driver of the car that hit three people was identified as Shana Soto, 45, of Hollywood, according to a crash report by the Hollywood Police Department.
According to report, Soto, who was driving a 2013 Honda CRV, swerved past a Hollywood Fire Truck Striking the curb and driving onto the sidewalk where her car hit three people.
The driver was traveling eastbound in the north alley of Harrison Street approaching 20th Avenue as Hollywood Fire Rescue Engine 105 was traveling slowly north on South 20th Avenue with its emergency lights on. Fire rescue was responding to a fire alarm call in the area, according to the report.
Soto made a wide right turn to head south on South 20th Avenue causing her car to go into the northbound lane. She then corrected the steering wheel to avoid striking the fire engine and continued in a southwest direction, striking the curb and driving onto the sidewalk.
Blood was taken to test for alcohol and at this point, there have been no charges filed.
The report said that all three people were sitting at a table when Soto’s car struck them, then the car hit a palm tree before coming to a final rest.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by her fiancée, Verastegui lost the lower part of both her legs. The page says medical bills are being covered by insurance but money raised will help bring her family from Peru and help with other costs not covered by medical insurance.