FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A good Samaritan is speaking out after a hit-and-run left him badly hurt.
Thirty-one-year-old Yevhenii Arsirii was helping push a disabled car off the road when a suspect car struck both him and the car he was assisting.
The incident occurred around 12:05 a.m. on Aug. 11 in the 2300 block of Northwest Sixth Street in Fort Lauderdale.
According to Fort Lauderdale Police, Arsirii, who did not know the driver of the disabled cars but stopped to help, was severely injured and transported to Broward Health Medical Center by Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.
Arsirii spoke to 7News over FaceTime on Tuesday night as he recovers in Orlando.
“It’s been very difficult. I would say it’s like the most transformative experience of my life,” he said.
He said on that August night, he was on his way home from the gym when he decided to help the disabled car.
“Then out of nowhere, there was a light and then hit and then I fell on the floor and then I turned around and I saw the bumper of white Mercedes and then I look at my leg and I couldn’t feel them,” said Arsirii.
He said he lost part of his right leg and doesn’t know what will happen to his left leg, but that he is surrounded by family as he continues healing from his injuries.
“I’m going to tell you there’s no choice of having good spirits or bad spirits because if you have a bad spirit, you don’t recover,” said Arsirii.
Another person assisting at the scene and the driver of the disabled vehicle suffered minor injuries but did not require hospitalization.
Authorities have identified the woman accused of fleeing a hit-and-run crash. Police are now searching for 28-year-old Tydaijah Sade Lashone Murray.
Arsirii said he saw the female driver following the hit-and-run but needed to focus on saving his own life.
“Then I turned around and I looked at the person and she came out of the street and said ‘What am I supposed to do now?'” he said.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Murray, but authorities have not been able to locate her.
Arsirii hopes that the driver pays for her mistakes.
“I would say to the driver that the price is going to be paid no matter what. I paid for my mistake and she’s gonna pay for her mistake,” he said.
He shared a message for other drivers on the road.
“One thing I want to say that every time you drive your car, stay focused on the road,” said Arsirii.
The victim has to return to Fort Lauderdale in January for more surgeries.
Fort Lauderdale Police are asking anyone with information about Murray’s whereabouts to contact Traffic Homicide Investigator Paul Williams at 954-828-5755 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.