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Kamas mom is undeterred by crash

Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff

Kamas resident Maria Arvizo was driving to work last month when she was involved in a traffic crash that changed her life. The 32-year-old mother of six still cannot walk after breaking several bones when her vehicle rolled over near State Road 248.

Facing a long road to recovery, Arvizo was home this week for the first time since the accident in May. She was released from the hospital last Tuesday.

"I am happy that God gave me another chance and I am going to try to take advantage of the chance that I got," Arvizo said through a Spanish interpreter. "Everything has changed for me. I am going to try to be a better person, try to be a better mother and not take things for granted."

Strangers and friends in Summit County have pitched in to help Arvizo, who is a single mom.

"I’m impressed that people have been coming together to help her. It doesn’t matter what race you are, they’ll be there," said Kamas resident Violet Lopez, one of Arvizo’s friends.

Well-wishers have deposited thousands of dollars into a bank account set up to receive donations for Arvizo’s family. The account number at Wells Fargo is 2833672559.

A man recently put enough money into the account for Arvizo to pay her rent next month. She has a job cleaning homes in the Park City area, but has been unable to work since the accident.

At the time of the crash, Arvizo was traveling westbound on State Road 248. She remembers changing lanes to avoid a car in front of her. But she does not know why the vehicle began to roll.

She suffered spinal injuries and several broken bones.

"I never thought of dying when I was in the crash," Arvizo said Friday. "But after, when people started telling me how bad the car was, then I realized that I could have been dead."

Brenda Ramirez, Arvizo’s 12-year-old daughter, said her siblings have stepped up to take care of their mother since she came home from the hospital.

Arvizo’s children range in age from three to 13 years old.

"She is doing good," Brenda said in a telephone interview Friday.

"We have been helping her She needs help getting her food."

A charity garage sale scheduled June 26 at Cattleman’s Hall in Oakley is expected to raise money for the family.

"I would like to thank every single person who has dropped things off at the garage. We have so many things that people have been donating," Lopez said. "I’ve been picking up bags and bags of things that people have been giving me. Without them, we wouldn’t be doing the garage sale."

Meanwhile, Lopez said a wheelchair is needed for Arvizo to get around.

"We need to have a wheelchair with an extension for her legs. Maybe somebody out there has a wheelchair that they are not using anymore. Even if they would like to sell it, we could try to buy it," Lopez said. "One arm she can move a little and one leg she can feel a little, but the other one she cannot move."

Contact Lopez at 435-731-6286 for information about ways you can help the family.

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