AVENTURA, Fla. – Mere days after getting married, Lorena Santos was left for dead along Hallandale Beach Boulevard on July 13. She survived but remained in her hospital bed Wednesday as she spoke to Local 10 News amid a police search for the driver who hit her.
Santos, 30, was crossing Hallandale Beach Boulevard at Northeast 14th Avenue when a car slammed into her and kept going.
She had gotten married to her husband, John Sutphin, on July 9. Medics took Santos to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, having suffered a massive brain injury and broken bones.
“Oh, I remember I (had) the accident,” Santos told Local 10 News via video call Wednesday.
“You see it?” she asked, tilting the camera to her head. “Mi cabeza (my head).”
Sutphin said his wife’s recovery will be a “long process.”
“She’s confused. She doesn’t really know exactly what happened, but she’s making huge strides,” he said. “Just for her to be able to communicate right now is a huge blessing.”
Hallandale Beach police released a surveillance image Wednesday showing the headlights of the suspect’s vehicle.
“To leave someone on the side of the road for dead, it’s just evil,” Sutphin said.
Loved ones created a GoFundMe page to help with Santos’ medical expenses.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.