GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A five-day vacation turned into a 24-day nightmare for four University of Michigan students who got into a car crash while on spring break in Mexico.
Two of the four, including Freddie DeLaRosa who grew up in Holland, are finally heading back to Michigan Thursday.
DeLaRosa and three of his friends went to Mexico at the end of February.
They went to relax; however, on just the second day of their trip, a van smashed into their car while they were driving to the beach to watch the sunset.
"Especially on vacation, you don't really expect tragedy to happen, but it really can happen at any point and it's something to be aware [of]," DeLaRosa said.
DeLaRosa told FOX 17 that three of them lost consciousness from the impact of the crash.
Doctors discharged DeLaRosa, the driver and another passenger a few days ago, but he stayed in Mexico to help his friend Dipita get home.
DeLaRosa said Dipita broke several ribs, suffered contusions to her lung and heart and caught an infection while in the ICU.
“Dipita is a very involved person in the community. Whether that’s in her hometown of Detroit, or on U of M’s campus, she is extremely involved, always willing to help people, extremely kind and caring for others and just like an advocate in like every scenario, essentially. And year, I really do believe that she deserves all the support that she can get. She has definitely done more than enough and gone above and beyond and, in life, all of her life, to like support others. We’re very glad that people are supporting her now,” he told FOX 17 Thursday.
Thankfully, donations to a GoFundMe account helped them send her back to Detroit Thursday on an emergency ambulance flight.
"We're very thankful we're returning to the U.S. and she is exiting critical condition," he added.
