SAN ANTONIO — Home surveillance video captures the moment a local mom was hit by a driver in front of her home on April 14.
The clip shows Shelby Mackenzie rolling her trash can down the driveway when a car veers off the road, jumps the curb and hits the 27-year-old head on. Due to its graphic nature, KENS 5 did not air the video in its entirety.
In a preliminary report by San Antonio police, it says Mackenzie was struck by the front of the [driver's] vehicle, which caused her to go airborne. Mackenzie was conscious on scene but was transported to the hospital by EMS with serious injuries.
The report goes on to say Mackenzie suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in critical condition but expected to survive. The driver was evaluated for drugs and alcohol but detectives decided the driver was not intoxicated. The driver is not facing any criminal charges.
Mackenzie remembers very little from that morning.
"I guess I heard her hit the mailbox first because it looks like my body kind of cringed [in the video]. And at that point, she just hit me," she said.
Mackenzie was told the driver fell asleep behind the wheel before hitting her. On Monday, police could not confirm if the driver was asleep or distracted at the time of the incident.
Mackenzie said a neighbor saw what happened and drove his truck over to help. He told Mackenzie the driver was crying and unable to talk.
"[The neighbor] did say that the [driver] was having a hard time verbalizing things. I'm sure she was really sad, you know," said Mackenzie.
One faint memory Mackenzie has is asking where her toddler was. She later recalled the little girl was inside the house.
Mackenzie spent seven days in the hospital's ICU and didn't realize what happened until the fourth day after the incident. She was diagnosed with two skull fractures, three subdural hemorrhages, a dissection of her internal carotid artery and ruptured all of the ligaments in her right knee.
She even mentioned having hearing issues after.
"At my next neurosurgery appointment, I definitely am going to have to talk about my [headaches] because I'm starting to experience nausea and vomiting, and some pain in the back of my neck. There's just like weird things that are happening again," she said.
Despite the pain, she is grateful to be alive.
"God's gotten me through everything so far. He's literally saved my life and let me heal in a really miraculous way."
While in the hospital, Mackenzie said her family contacted the driver's insurance company only to find out she had the smallest amount of coverage and zero assets. Lawyers told the family it was unlikely money to pay for Mackenzie medical expenses would come through. Now she is left footing her future medical bills.
However, she refuses to be mad at the driver.
"I don't want anything bad to happen to her. [I learned] she's a mom with babies, you know, and everything's going to happen exactly how it's going to happen. We're going to get through it and it's going to be okay," said Mackenzie.
She said her most unexpectant blessing came in the form of donations online through a Go Fund Me her siblings created. At time of writing, the fundraiser had collected $39,800.
"I have amazing people in my life, amazing friends from all over and from school who reached out. Amazing strangers who are just so generous. I'm really grateful and really happy."
