Auburn motorcyclist left for dead by hit-and-run driver meets 'guardian angel' who helped save her
AUBURN, Wash. - A woman from Auburn who was hit by a driver and left for dead reunited with the man who helped save her life after the crash.
Monica Hawley says without his quick thinking, she may have lost her leg, or worse. There were tears and hugs as the two got to meet for the first time since that crash.
"Are you Raul? Can I give you a hug?" said Hawley, after they reunited Thursday. "I’m so happy to see you."
"You saved my life. Thank you for everything," she said.
Raul Rodriguez came to her rescue after a hit-and-run driver slammed into her on her motorcycle near Highway 18 and C Street SW, leaving her for dead in late June.
"If you didn’t put your belt on my leg, I probably wouldn’t be alive right now," said Hawley.
She was heading down a ramp, just as the driver of a truck or SUV was speeding the wrong way up it.
"I didn’t get much warning before the accident," said Hawley.
Motorcyclist fights to keep her leg after a wrong-way hit & run driver left her for dead
A local woman is in the hospital, fighting to keep her leg, after a wrong way driver knocked her off her motorcycle and left her for dead.
The driver crossed the center line, crushing her.
"I remember looking down at my foot and just realizing how bad the situation was," said Hawley. "After that, it was just nothing unfortunately but pain."
Rodriguez saw her on the ground as he drove by. While another man called 911, he jumped into action, applying a tourniquet to her leg.
"It just clicked, you know, took my belt off and told Monica, ‘Hey, I have to put my belt on you’," said Rodriguez.
"I think I said, ‘No don’t touch me, I’m in pain right now," said Hawley. "He’s like ’dude, I’ve got to do it.'"
After securing her leg, he kept her awake until first responders arrived.
"It makes me really happy to see her," said Rodriguez. "She’s shining and she’s good."
Supporters have raised thousands for a potential reward to find the driver.
"People like that shouldn’t be on the road," said Rodriguez.
"If that person is willing to leave somebody in a situation that I was left in, then that person doesn’t care for life," said Hawley.
If it weren't for Rodriguez, Hawley believes things could have turned out much differently.
"I’m just so thankful for you," Hawley said. "He is a true hero."
Hawley says after the crash, she wasn't certain whether doctors would be able to save her leg. Since then, the outlook has improved. However, there is still no timeline for when she might be able to start therapy to try to walk again.
