ORANGE PARK, Fla. — Last Thursday night, Eric Orengo left work at O’Steen’s Restaurant in St. Augustine, thinking he’d go home to have dinner with his wife.
Not only did he never make it home, his life was drastically changed not long after crossing the St. Johns-Putnam County line. While riding his electric scooter in the bike lane of SR-207, between Hastings and East Palatka, he was hit by a pickup truck that never stopped to help.
“I thought I was dying. I thought I wasn’t going to survive at all,” Orengo said, who spoke with Action News Jax from his hospital bed.
Orengo told us both of his legs were broken after the crash, part of his scalp had to be reattached to his head and his spine was fractured. He’s been nervous to move his head, or move much at all, worrying he may paralyze himself for life with the damage his body has already taken.
“Not being able to walk or do anything for myself anymore, it was just a big, traumatic event that’s literally turned my life upside down,” Orengo said.
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The Florida Highway Patrol told us they received a call about the crash right before 10:00 PM last Thursday night. FHP said the crash happened on SR-207 between Rector Road and Freedom Point Road. The driver responsible for the hit-and-run has not yet been arrested or identified.
Orengo said he remembers being on the side of the road for close to an hour before he was eventually flown to HCA Orange Park Hospital in Clay County. He said a group of women saw him on the road, pulled over and stayed with him while waiting for first responders to show up.
“The woman that I call my angel, she saved me. She was with me from the moment that she could get there. She held my head together and kept me conscious,” Orengo said.
Doctors told Orengo he will likely have to spend the next two to three years in recovery. He has been told that he will likely be out of work for at least a year and has been worried about how to support his wife and their three dogs during this time.
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For the moment, he hopes the driver can be held responsible for their actions, which he believes destroyed his life.
“You took everything from me,” Orengo said, “you took the fun that I had in life, and you just ripped it from me in a blink of an eye.”
O’Steen’s Restaurant wasn’t able to interview with us, but said they are working to raise money to help support Orengo’s recovery. If you would like to support him, you can do so by clicking the link here.
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