A La Jolla father hit and left paralyzed in a Fiesta Island bicyclist crash last summer testified in the trial of the woman accused of running into the group, telling the jury that the crash wrecked his life.
"My life is destroyed, everything is different," said Juan Carlos Vinolo in court Wednesday, testifying in the trial of Theresa Owens.
Owens, 49, faces charges of felony DUI and possession of a controlled substance. Police say she was under the influence of methamphetamine on Aug. 12, 2014, when she drove the wrong way on the Mission Bay island and hit a group of cyclists. During her arrest, a bag of meth was found in her vagina, prosecutors allege. In April, she was found mentally competent to stand trial.
"When my kids come running, I can't pick them up anymore, or play with them, or kick a ball around, or put them to sleep," Vinolo said. "Simple things that you take for granted, I can't do anymore."
Vinolo said he was one of about 25 cyclists in a crowd that day riding around Fiesta Island, a route he had taken many times before. He had been biking since he was 14 years old and considered himself a "extremely advanced" cyclist.
Owens' defense attorney said the question facing the jury was whether the driving in the crash was impaired, pointing out that the crash was a horrific accident but not necessarily a crime.
"Because, just like you can drink alcohol and still drive without being impaired, you can have methamphetamine in your system and still be able to drive without being impaired," the attorney said. That day, Owens was not impaired for the purposes of driving, he said.
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The psychiatrist who evaluated Owens had earlier said she had bipolar disorder marked by persistent delusions about her mother and boyfriend. He said she was having a hallucination that her boyfriend “appeared and disappeared” during the crash.
In court Wednesday, Vinolo turned his back to Owens in his wheelchair as he recounted the ride that day. He said he was riding in a group as they were increasing their speeds and it was his turn soon to lead the pack, and he was preparing to take over.
"So I was thinking of staying close to that wheel and we were going through a corner and in an instant, I saw a car, and next thing you know, I was on top of it," Vinolo testified.
He said he did not remember the moment of impact, but soon realized he was in a crash "because I was looking around and I saw my legs to my left in a really awkward position," he said. He immediately could not feel his legs.
"They [his legs] were almost right next to my face. Ten inches," he said. He could see his knees parallel to his face. He said his body was bent in a 'V' shape.
"I kept saying, I don't wanna be paralyzed, I don’t wanna be paralyzed," he said. He was concerned because he couldn't feel his legs at all. He said he hoped he was in a temporary state of shock; he started to fear for his life.
Friends held up parts of his body until paramedics came and took him to the hospital. There, he learned one of his vertebrae had "completely disintegrated" and he had suffered a severed spinal cord, lost a kidney, dislocated his left clavicle, separated his shoulder, broken eight ribs, had a collapsed lung and had extensive damage to his spleen and liver. He later went into shock and had to breathe with a tube down his throat. Doctors had to fuse his spine with two titanium rods.
"Pretty much my heart and my brain were the two main organs that did not sustain any major damage," he testified.
He spent one month in intensive care and underwent multiple surgeries and later spent two months in rehab.
"It was hell," he said when asked about his time in the hospital and in rehab.
More than a year later, his shoulder is still in constant pain, Vinolo said, and he is still dealing with the "many, many lasting effects" of the crash.
"It's a very hard physical challenge and emotional and also economical, because your life, all of a sudden, becomes very expensive," he said.
Those effects have taken a toll on his personal life as well, he testified, as his wife has become a caregiver and mother all at once, and he can't play with his young children like he used to be able to.
"It hurts me to see a six year old kid trying to push his dad around," he said.
Ten people were injured in the Fiesta Island crash in August.
The crash prompted the city of San Diego to improve signs and road safety in the area to prevent another incident.
If convicted, Owens faces up to 18 years in prison.
