At first sight, Tony Vidaurri doesn't look nearly as bad as you would think, especially after what happened to him two weeks ago.
"Everybody's telling me that it's a miracle," Vidaurri said in an exclusive bedside interview. "And I'll take that, that's fine."
The Escondido homeowner doesn't remember much from the night of Feb. 9, when he walked into his back patio with his two dogs, and suddenly everything went dark.
"I believe I remember rolling up the leashes together and that was it, life stopped for a few minutes," Vidaurri said.
He was run over by a truck, driven by an alleged drunk driver and pinned underneath, unconscious, but still breathing.
Witnesses said the truck's driver could barely stand after the crash at the corner of Eveningside Glen and Country Club Lane.
The crash wiped out an entire deck and caused a large power outage in the area, according to officials.
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Clinging to life, Tony was worked on for hours by doctors at Palomar Medical Center.
He suffered a shattered right leg, broken shoulder, broken ribs, broken eye socket and half of his face had to be stapled back on to his skull.
"It's puffy as I speak, it's like I got into a fight, like somebody punched me you know," Vidaurri said.
The one thing that wasn't broken was the deep love he and his wife Lisa have for each other.
"She's been there for me, I'm a big old baby and she knows my needs."
Faced with mounting hospital bills, nowhere to live, and a young daughter and son to take care of, Lisa has been trying to stay strong because she has no choice.
"I'm just trying to hold it all together, and it's been really, really tough,” she said. “This is my family, we didn't ask for this you know."
All they ask is that justice take its course for 23-year-old Brandon Morris, the alleged driver of the truck, who has a previous DUI.
"I know he didn't mean to do it on purpose, so I mean I'm keeping cool and we'll let it play out," Tony Vidaurri said.
It's still unclear if Tony will ever be able to walk normally again.
To find information on helping the family with medical expenses, go to his Facebook page “Escondido DUI victim.”
