Dallas man who lost leg after being hit by alleged drunk driver thankful to be alive
DALLAS - A man who lost his leg after an alleged drunken driver crashed into him returned to the scene of that crash.
30-year-old Thomas Toledo returned to McKee Street, near downtown Dallas, where the crash severed the bottom half of his leg on New Year's Day.
Toledo says he remembers walking on the sidewalk, the screech of tires and a loud engine and seeing he only had one leg.
"I hop to the pole and started praying because I’m bleeding to death," he said.
Toledo did not believe he was going to live, but found the strength to make a phone call.
"I called my mother on the phone, telling her I love her and telling her to tell everyone I love them, and that I just lost my leg and I might not make it," he recalled.
Keandre Nash is charged with intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury.
According to an arrest warrant, Nash was driving his 2011 gray Nisan Titan on Botham Jean Boulevard when he struck a gray Range Rover, got into an altercation with those in the Range Rover, and sped away.
Moments later, he crashed into Toledo.
"It happened really fast, in the blink of an eye," Toledo said.
According to the warrant, Nash failed sobriety tests and, while getting blood drawn at the hospital, told officers "we all know I was under the influence."
Toledo's attorneys are exploring civil action.
"In a case like his where you’ve got a prosthetic, people don’t realize how expensive that is. His lifetime medical is going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars," said attorney Kern Lewis.
Toledo credits a nearby security guard who quickly took action.
"Thank God somebody was there to save my life," he said. "He put two tourniquets on my leg, on my limb, and I asked him, ‘Do you think I’m going to die?’ And he said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘You got this.’ I said, ‘Alright man.’"
Emotional does not begin to describe the past 10 months for Toledo. The 30-year-old is working to find his new normal after multiple surgeries.
"I face challenges every day and I try to overcome these challenges," said Toledo.
He still feels blessed to have survived.
"It’s a miracle and the first thing I did was pray. Pray and call my mother," said Toledo.
Nash is out of jail on a $50,000 bond.
The conditions of his bond require an interlock device installed on his car. The device detects any alcohol on his breath.
The Dallas District Attorney's Office has accepted Nash's case.