Prayer ceremony held for two Franklin High School students seriously injured in weekend crash

More than 100 students and faculty members at Franklin High School came together Tuesday night to pray for two students who were seriously injured in a crash over the weekend.

James McClain Green and Nathalie Diaz are both recovering at University Medical Center after the Jeep they were in crashed into another Mitsubishi Galant in Santa Teresa on Saturday.

“I just feel like it’s really beautiful and really amazing to see the community coming together,” McClain Green’s close friend, Khatib Lyles said. “Just to see that he’s been improving everyday, it just warms my heart because I care about him so much.”

28-year-old James Furman was driving the Mitsubishi and 17-year-old Pablo Payan was driving the Jeep. Sunland Park Police charged both drivers with DWI. According to the police report, Payan was ran a stop sign near the intersection of Edinburgh Drive and Leeds Drive. Police said Payan did not have his headlights on.

McClain Green was airlifted to University Medical Center, and those close to McClain Green tell ABC-7 his heart stopped twice.

A friend of Diaz, who was in the Jeep at the time of the crash, said Diaz suffered a broken neck and spine.

“It’s a lot. I’m really young and to go through something like that and think that i’m going to die, or my best friend is going to die, it’s a lot,” Franklin High School junior Batyah Barraza said.

The police report said the passengers in the Jeep fled. Barraza said that was not the case. They stayed until emergency crews arrived.

“It changed me a lot. It made me rethink a lot of things. I have a lot of what-ifs. I can’t really do ‘what-if I should’ve done that?’, because it happened already,” Barraza said. “I’m alive and [Diaz’s] alive and James is alive which is what matters.”

If you would like to help the families of the crash victims, there are links to GoFundMe Accounts:

Nathalie Diaz: https://www.gofundme.com/accident-help-nathalie-diaz-and-family

James McClain Green: https://www.gofundme.com/accident-help-james-mcclain-green-and-family

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