Norwalk man survives hit from drunk driver
Photo courtesy Derrek MIranda
NORWALK – Norwalk resident Derrek Miranda survived a car crash after a drunk driver slammed into him and three other vehicles on Aug. 15. Miranda was going to visit his son in Hesperia after work.
Miranda has set up a Go Fund Me page to help with his injuries and vehicle, as he was living out of his car and used it to commute to work.
As the 26-year-old chef stopped at the Etiwanda Avenue and 4th Street intersection in Rochester, he saw another car rapidly approach him from behind.
“It’s one of those moments where you’re thinking ‘Oh, he’s going to stop at the last minute,’” said Miranda. “I look at him and he’s not stopping, he’s coming up on me and he is going about 60 mph.”
As he saw the car speed towards him, Miranda swerved right to avoid the vehicles ahead of him.
“When I swerved, he tended to wipe me out from my driver’s side,” Miranda said. “When he hit me, it collapsed the whole side of the vehicle to where I couldn’t open the door.”
The drunk driver proceeded to hit three more vehicles in front of Miranda.
When he was hit, Miranda suffered injuries to his back, neck, shoulder and ankle. Due to his injuries and since the car door was jammed, paramedics needed to use the Jaws of Life to get Miranda out.
“It’s the fact that it was my home. As they cut the doors off, I was in pain, I was crying, I had nowhere to go,” said Miranda, his voice breaking as he recalled that night.
He was transported to Kaiser Permanente hospital, and was nearly denied service because he did not have health insurance.
“They couldn’t deny service [to anyone] who was brought in, and the condition I was in,” Miranda explained. “They had to work with me at that time, and they pretty much just let me out of the hospital with no medications or anything.”
Miranda is waiting for the police report to be released, but it may take a long time since multiple vehicles were involved in the incident.
To the drunk driver, Miranda says, “I don’t wish bad upon anyone. All I can say is make better decisions and be an adult.”
Miranda is a chef for Hibachi Queens catering, and has cooked for major celebrities including the late Kobe Bryant.
“To be able to live another day to get to do this, I’m excited,” he said. “I love my job, I love every bit of it. For somebody to come and almost take it from me is hard.”
Miranda grew up in the Norwalk area when he was younger, and played football for the Downey Razorbacks.