Teenager Dragged Underneath Truck Returns Home For Holidays

A miracle kept her alive, and now a Christmas wish has brought her home.

17-year-old Shawntae Caldwell of Las Cruces has been in and out of surgeries for the past two months. Everyday, Shawntae said she prayed she would be home for Christmas. And this week, that wish came true.

“I just thought I was dead,” Shawntae said.

Shawntae said she remembers exactly how she got pink flesh-torn wounds all across her body from the neck down.

“I just remember at first a burning in my back and I dont know if I was unconscious at the time or what happened but it felt like I went to sleep,” Shawntae said. “And then I just remember my body hitting the ground, like my body flew.”

As ABC-7 reported in October, a thick black streak along Comanche Trail, a residential neighborhood in North Las Cruces, spanning half the length of a football field was residue from Shawntae’s dragged body, after being hit and pinned underneath a moving truck. No charges have been filed at this point because the case is still under review by the District Attorney’s office.

“When my body flew and I was laying down they picked me up and I just like leaned my head forward and a bunch of blood was coming out of my mouth,” Shawntae said. “I picked up my arms and I just like saw my bone.”

Shawntae’s swollen right hand is missing a pinky and half an index finger, and she lost her left breast. Two months and nearly a half-dozen surgeries later, with her mother’s unyielding support, the sparkle in Shawntae’s eyes is undeniable; her will to live, unbreakable.

“Shawntae’s always been a very positive, outgoing person,” Araceli Caldwell, Shawntae’s mother, said. “She’s a very, very good kid – she’s one of a kind in my eyes.”

In Shawntae’s eyes, the glistening lights on the Evergreen tree inside her home have never shined as bright as they are this Christmas.

“I don’t care about presents this year, I just wanted to be home,” Shawntae said. “And I got my present.”

Despite everything Shawntae has been through, she was all smiles at home in her living room with her family. After she makes a full recovery, Shawntae said she plans to go to school to become a nurse.

She still has at least two more upcoming surgeries.

To help with hospital bills, there is an account set up in Shawntae’s name. To donate, click on the “Hot Button” on the KVIA.com homepage.