She’d Like to Tell Passer-By, Thanks for Saving My Neck

Diane Warren is happy to see her toes wiggle.

The 43-year-old Escondido resident was driving south in the fast lane of California 163 through Balboa Park last Thursday afternoon when a car forced her off the road.

Warren swerved, lost control of her car and drove across the grassy median into the northbound lanes where she was struck by another car, tossing her out onto the side of the road.

A paramedic-in-training happened on the accident and, recognizing that Warren had a broken neck, cradled her head in his hands, keeping it completely still until an ambulance and paramedics arrived. Doctors at Mercy Hospital said that without his aid, Warren most certainly would have become a quadriplegic.

Now, Warren is recovering from the accident and trying to find her anonymous Good Samaritan so she can thank him.

“Everyone in the hospital has told me how lucky I am and that I could have been a quadriplegic. I might not be wiggling my toes right now if it weren’t for him,” said Warren, who can walk on her own power and wears a crown, a brace which keeps her head in place.

Hospital administrators say Warren is in excellent condition with a strong possibility for a full recovery.

The paramedic-in-training who came to Warren’s aide talked briefly with the paramedics who arrived on the scene and then left without giving his name to anyone, said Warren, who remembers nothing from the accident.

“I’m just real happy and all I wanted to do is say thank you to him . . . he could have just driven by like everyone else,” said Warren, whose flower-packed hospital room overlooks the freeway where the accident occurred.

“When people do something nice, it often goes unnoticed and I just wanted to tell him how appreciative I am and tell him that if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t be walking right now.”

Warren will have to wear her head brace for three months, after which doctors will evaluate her condition. If everything goes well, Warren could be free from the brace and neck collars within four months.

“It sure puts a crimp in my aerobics, and no skiing this winter, but then I look at my toes and I don’t mind.”