FHS student Nathalie Diaz shares details of night of crash that critically injured two students

The Franklin High school student, Nathalie Diaz, who was critically injured in a car crash is speaking with ABC 7 about her ordeal.

Diaz was a passenger in a Vehicle that crashed into another vehicle in November of 2018.

The crash happened at the corner of Edinburgh Drive and Leeds Drive.

Diaz was riding in one of those vehicles, she told ABC 7 that she is happy to be alive. She said “The chance to be able to be here and be alive, its just so amazing and I’m so grateful.”

Diaz was riding in a Jeep with five other friends on the night of the crash. She was sitting in the rear cargo area when it happened.

She told ABC 7 “I remember going in the car, everything was good, I was all good, but I was like its a long drive so I’m going to close my eyes, and I closed my eyes and when I opened them, its this whole thing.”

The driver of the Jeep allegedly ran a stop sign and hit another car. Both drivers, 17-year-old Pablo Payan, and 28-year-old James Furman were arrested for D.W.I.

The Jeep rolled over in the crash, and Diaz was left hanging halfway out of the cargo area. She said when she opened her eyes, she had no idea what was going on, saying “My body was outside of the trunk, and I was like oh god what’s happening?”

Diaz fractured her spine and neck in the crash. She was rushed to University Medical Center where she spent ten days going through intense recovery and therapy. She said, “You know everything was just horrible because everything I had to do, I had to do laying down. And then with the (body and neck) brace, it was just a big change. It was just so frustrating.”

Diaz told ABC 7 that she was in immense pain, and even though she wishes she never got in the car that night, she learned from her experience. She said it made her realize to always “Be grateful for everything you have because in one second you could lose it all.”

Diaz also wanted to remind people of an important lesson saying “Don’t go in the car with like someone whose drinking or don’t drink and drive because it really affects your life in just one second.”

Diaz is back in school but is scheduled for a neck surgery this week.

If you would like to help the Diaz family with medical bills, they have set up a GoFundMe Page, https://www.gofundme.com/accident-help-nathalie-diaz-and-family

Fellow Franklin High school student-athlete, James McClain-Green, was also critically injured in the crash but has since been released from the hospital.