'He's a Fighter': Husband, Father Expected to Survive Crash

A man hit by a wrong-way driver Saturday morning is expected to survive. Luis Moldanado was driving northbound on Interstate 5 near the 805 merge when a 22-year-old driver hit him head-on. Moldanado was taken to Scripps La Jolla immediately.Saturday night, doctors told his wife, Yanira Madirgal, he’ll survive. “Hearing it was just like ‘all right he’s still there, that’s my husband, he’s a fighter,'” she said.  1 Killed, 1 Hurt in I-5 Wrong-Way Crash Overwhelmed to hear he’s going to survive, Madrigal still knows he has a long road ahead. “It’s just amazing to see him breathing, assisted, but breathing.”Doctors at Scripps La Jolla told Madirgal, “prepare for the long haul, multiple days of surgeries,” she said.  Shots Fired in Escondido, 3 Detained Together, they have a four-year-old daughter. “You know, my first thought driving into the hospital this morning is like, ‘I hope he’s going to be okay … my daughter needs a father,” Madirgal told NBC 7.Other family members and friends surrounded her in the waiting room Saturday. Salk, UCSD to Study Food Restriction and Firefighter Health David Tovar is one of Moldanado’s best friends. he got a call Saturday morning. “The phone rang and it’s one of my older friends Ted, and he never has any reason to call me this early,” he added, “He asked me if I’d heard from Luis and that’s never a good thing.” Hours later on Saturday night, Tovar was relieved to find out his Luis will recover. “You get a sense of relief when it’s okay to let go of the idea of death, when you haven’t lost your friend forever, there’s a sense of relief.” Tovar told NBC 7 Moldanado was driving up to the Willow Springs International Raceway when he was hit early Saturday morning.For years, Moldanado has raced motorbikes. He’s also a Marine combat veteran. He did two active combats in Sangin, Afghanistan, and another tour later on.Surviving motorcycle crashes and seven years as a Marine, his wife was shocked to know his life was almost taken by a wrong way driver. “Just doing what anyone else would do, driving from A to B, someone goes on the freeway the wrong way and everyone life is all changed,” she said. Moldanado was driving with his service dog Jax. Thankfully Jax has no broken bones and is expected to be okay. The two will recover together.To help the family along their long road ahead, full of surgeries and physical therapy, a friend of the family set up a Go Fund Me page. Photo Credit: Courtesy of family
Source: NBC San Diego