PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A Pasco County teacher is overwhelmed with support after her daughter survived a car crash in South Carolina.
Damaris Miranda said her students wrote her cards and messages of support. She teaches Spanish at a middle school in Pasco County and has been an educator for two decades.
Her 26-year-old daughter, Adriana Pletcher, was hit by a car in January in the parking lot of a grocery store in South Carolina.
"It's not a phone call you want to get when the state trooper from another state calls you. Could you please pull over? Your daughter is alive, but I need you to pull over," said Miranda.
The University of South Carolina student has been hospitalized since the crash.
"She was with her dog, and the dog was on a leash. There was an accident, and she tried to pull on the dog to save the dog, which she did save the dog, but then she got hit," said Miranda.
Pletcher has had numerous surgeries. Doctors placed screws in her shoulder and leg. She will need to use a wheelchair for at least three months. She will also need physical therapy to learn how to walk again.
"She is determined to get out of there, and she is wanting to brush her own hair and brush her own teeth and get out of that bed. She's with the physical therapist every day; they are helping her," said Natalie Pletcher, Adriana's sister.
The community has donated to a GoFundMe page to help with medical bills.
"My high school friends, my college friends from Holy Cross in Massachusetts, they have been incredible with their donations," said Miranda.
Miranda said she is also grateful to her coworkers and administration for their support.
"My family can't really express how grateful we're for everyone and for our family even to come together and our friends to come together," Pletcher said.
"The pain is hard to watch, but you can't really heal without going through pain. I know that's part of it, so I'm really proud of her that she's already in the mindset of getting better and getting back on her feet."
If you are interested in helping with Adriana Pletcher's Accident Recovery Fund, click here.
