SALEM, Ore. — A single mother of five children was paralyzed from the waist down after a serious car crash near Brooks in Marion County. The crash sent her and four others to the hospital.
The Felix family told KGW that the past two weeks have been difficult to process and accept, but they're grateful that their mother is still alive after the terrible crash.
Eucevia Felix was on her way to work with four other members of her farm working crew when their vehicle was hit by a semi-truck. Within moments, their vehicle was flipped upside-down.
"At that moment, I thought it was going to die because the trailer was going to go through us," Felix said from her hospital bed. "The crash was really terrible, truthfully. Everyone says all five of us should be dead."
Felix was the most severely hurt of the people in her car. She suffered a spinal injury that left her unable to move her body from the waist down.
"In that moment, I didn't cry. I tried to be strong and tell myself that I could do this," Felix said, tears welling in her eyes. "But there comes a time where you get tired of everything. But I'm doing this for my kids. We have to give it a good effort."
As a single working mother of five children, Felix is now left asking herself how she'll be able to provide for her children. Her eldest son started a GoFundMe page in hopes of easing some of his mother's burden.
"In that moment, well, it's not that important if you die," Felix said, "but what's important are making sure your children are alright."
The mom is now waiting to find out where she'll be transferred for her rehabilitation, whether it be in Oregon or Colorado.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office said it has spoken with the driver of the semi involved in the crash, and the investigation is ongoing.