A Dallas man who lost his leg after being hit by an alleged drunk driver is grateful to be alive

DALLAS – A man who lost his leg after a… suspected drunk driver crashed into him returned to the scene of the accident.

Thomas Toledo, 30, was returning to McKee Street, near downtown Dallas, where the New Year’s Day crash severed the lower half of his leg.

Toldeo says he remembers walking on the sidewalk, the screeching of tires and a loud engine, and seeing that he only had one leg.

“I jumped to the pole and started praying because I was bleeding to death,” he said.

Toldeo didn’t believe he would live, but found the strength to make a phone call.

“I called my mom on the phone, told her I love her and told her to tell everyone I loved them, and that I had just lost my leg and I might not make it,” he recalls himself.

Keandre Nash is charged with vehicular intoxication causing serious bodily injury.

According to an arrest warrant, Nash was driving his gray 2011 Nisan Titan on Botham Jean Boulevard when he struck a gray Range Rober, got into an argument with those in the Range Rover and drove away.

Moments later he bumped into Toledo.

“It happened very quickly, in the blink of an eye,” Toledo said.

According to the warrant, Nash failed field sobriety tests and, while having blood drawn at the hospital, told officers “we all know I was under the influence.”

Toledo’s attorneys are exploring civil action.

“In a case like his, where you have a prosthetic, people don’t realize how expensive that is. His lifetime medical treatment will be hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said attorney Kern Lewis.

Toledo credits a nearby security guard who took quick action.

“Thank God someone was there to save my life,” he said. “He put two tourniquets on my leg, on my limb, and I asked him, ‘Do you think I’m going to die?’ And he said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘You got this.’ I said, ‘Okay man.'”

Emotional is not the description of the past ten months for Toledo. The 30-year-old is working on finding his new normal after multiple surgeries.

“I face challenges every day and I try to overcome these challenges,” Toledo said.

He still feels blessed to have survived.

“It’s a miracle and the first thing I did was pray. Pray and call my mom,” Toledo said.

Nash is released from jail on $50,000 bond.

The terms of his bond require an interlock device to be installed on his car. The device detects any alcohol in his breath.

The Dallas District Attorney’s Office has accepted Nash’s case. They are waiting for a grand jury setting.