Andrea Soraluz says it’ll be a long while before her daughter, 15-year-old Ariana Pina, fully recovers from a head-on crash in Deerfield Beach that almost took her life.
“Thank God she’s a blessed girl,” the mother said. “She has a lot of support from everybody.”
Soraluz, a former professional MMA fighter in Peru, says her daughter is now fighting the battle of her life.
Ariana has a long list of injuries, mainly from her waist down and several fractures.
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“She fractured her pelvis,” Soraluz said. “She lost part of her right leg from her knee down and also some toes from her left leg.”
Ariana was one of three people severely hurt after a head-on crash on Southwest 10th Street near Waterways Boulevard in Deerfield Beach Friday night.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said a 17-year-old boy from Plantation was driving a Toyota Corolla eastbound when he lost control, crossed the curbed median and collided head-on with a Ford Fusion in the westbound lanes.
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Ariana was a passenger in the Toyota and was riding with her boyfriend.
The driver of the Ford, identified as Isaac Knowles, was left in critical condition.
Video shows the wreckage left behind: two cars with windows shattered, completely crumpled and disfigured.
Investigators say they had to use the jaws of life to remove all three of the injured.
Soraluz describes her daughter as happy and says the family just celebrated her 15th birthday.
“She’s a very good girl, very smart, very happy,” she said.
Soraluz says Ariana will have to get a prosthetic leg and learn how to walk again.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical bills.