SAN ANTONIO — An entire community is rallying behind a mother and daughter who were hurt in a car crash.
They, along with their family, are refugees who moved here from Turkey about a year ago. The mother, who is the sole provider for the family, is still in the ICU recovering.
Ferhat Ozturk is a family friend who actually drove by the crash scene on Mar. 24.
However, at the time, he didn't realize his friends Fariba Muradi and her daughter Mobeena were hurt. He later learned it was them.
"They cut off the roof of the car," he said. "And I said how can someone survive from this accident. "I rushed to the hospital to find out what was going on."
He said, that Sunday, the mother and daughter were on their way to the Raindrop Turkish Cultural Center when they crashed at Hamilton Wolfe and Floyd Curl Drive. The mother hit a utility pole.
"She didn't realize there was a curve there," he said. "She ended up hitting the electric pole from the side."
The mother is still in the ICU and lost some fingers. At one point, doctors thought they were going to have to amputate her hand. However, they're going to be able to salvage it.
Mobeena is now out of the hospital, and was actually released on her 12th birthday. She has injuries to her arm and ankle. For now, Ozturk is taking care of her and her two other siblings.
"It has been pretty hard especially for the kids," he said.
He said the move from their home country hasn't been an easy transition for the family of refugees, and now they are having to deal with this situation. It is especially hard, because he said the mother is raising the kids alone and is the sole provider.
"The most important thing about this family is they are very resilient," he said.
Ozturk started an online fundraiser for the family as he said they will need a lot of help during this trying time. He also said this is has been a heavy reminder for his family, and could be for others as well.
"It also reminded us how close death is to us, for our loved ones," he said. "We just need to know the value of our loved ones around us. It could be just a small accident, or a small thing, we may lose them."
It is not known how long the mother will be in the hospital, as it could be several weeks or months.
If you would like to help the family, click here.