Victim of hit-run feels lucky to be alive
SCU student, 19, lay on freeway after being rear-ended
SAN JOSE — In the seconds after the impact, Miles Lagunas believed he was going to die.
Lagunas, a 19-year-old sophomore at Santa Clara University, was riding a motorcycle on Highway 17 at the speed limit on March 28 when a suspected drunken driver slammed into him from behind. The impact sent him spiraling into the air and then careening along the freeway asphalt.
“I heard an engine accelerate from behind me and the next thing I knew I was being propelled forward faster than I was going,” Lagunas said. “I knew someone had rear-ended me. As I was flying through the air and rolling on the ground, I was lucid and aware. “I was ready to die.” Somehow, Lagunas sur-
vived the crash, but he sustained several broken bones, a punctured lung and bladder and severe road rash. He will not be able to attend classes during the spring quarter at Santa Clara, which began Monday. But he is thankful. “I’m definitely very fortunate,” Lagunas said in a telephone interview from his hospital bed. “I’ve talked to a lot of medical staff. They said it’s pretty miraculous. The fact is, none of the injuries are severe enough that they won’t heal. The bones will heal on their own. ”
In the seconds following the crash, which happened just after midnight, Lagunas found himself in the center divide of Highway 17 just south of Interstate 280. His clothes were shredded.
“I was essentially naked and bloody on the freeway in the middle of the night,” Lagunas said. “I started yelling for help.”
Several people pulled over to help Lagunas, including one man who stayed by his side until paramedics got him into the ambulance. The good Samaritan held Lagunas’ hand until help arrived and refused to leave his side even when the paramedics reached him.
“He touched my forehead and held my hand,” Lagunas said. “That was necessary to get me through waiting for the ambulance to arrive.”
Lagunas is thankful for that man and other motorists who pulled over to help him, as well as the CHP officers who came to the hospital the night of the accident to deliver some of his personal belongings.
Following the crash, the driver who rear-ended Lagunas fled the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol.
As paramedics treated Lagunas, CHP officers located
a license plate at the scene, according to CHP Officer Ross Lee. Officers ran the plate and went to the address of the registered owner.
The CHP officers located a man who admitted he had been driving during that time but did not make any statements about being involved in a collision, Lee said. The officers arrested James Troy Bleakmore, 52, on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing great bodily injury, hit andand driving on a suspended license.
Officers also located his 2005 Dodge truck and “noticed it had damage consistent with being in this collision,” Lee said.
Lagunas said it was an “anomaly” he was even on the freeway. The motorcycle he usually rides can’t go on the freeway. But his motorcycle had a flat tire, so he borrowed his dad’s bike instead.
“I felt there wouldn’t be much traffic,” Lagunas said.” I thought it would be safe. Turns out it wasn’t.”
During his time in the hospital, Lagunas has received several visitors, including two Jesuits from Santa Clara University.
“They have come and given me blessings and bedside prayer,” Lagunas said. “It’s meant a lot. It’s been very moving.”
Lagunas, a 2013 Homestead High School graduate, said the university has promised him he will have a spot at Santa Clara once he has recovered, which could take several months. The early stages of recovery have been extremely painful, especially the road rash that has covered his body, his father, Armando Lagunas, said.
“It’s just going to be torturous for a while,” Armando Lagunas said. “It’s tough, but he’s a very resilient guy.”