Arizona teen survives head-on crash, begins recovery

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — An Arizona college student is making a miraculous recovery after reportedly being struck head-on by a wrong-way driver in Casa Grande.

Grace Lujan, 18, was driving south on Pinal Avenue near Val Vista Boulevard on March 8 when she was struck by a driver with no headlights on. 

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Lujan’s family told 12News that first responders had to extricate Lujan from the car using the jaws of life and fly her to a Mesa hospital.

“She is the epitome of resilience, and the strength this little girl has is just amazing,” Lujan’s uncle, Santino Montalvo, said. “We are extremely blessed that she’s still with us.”

Lujan is still in the hospital, where she underwent several surgeries to fix broken bones in her face and legs.

Montalvo said Lujan is alert, but doesn’t have much memory of the crash. That night has slowly been coming back into focus.

“She remembers waking up and a gentleman, which happened to be a park ranger who was closing down the park across the street, being by her side, trying to keep her calm and telling her that help was on the way and that everything was going to be okay and he was praying for her,” Montalvo said.

Those prayers from the park ranger and the entire community are carrying the Lujan-Montalvo family through this dark time.

“Don’t take for granted how special and how precious life is. Don’t take for granted that tomorrow is never promised and that freak accidents like this happen to anybody,” Montalvo said.

Montalvo said Lujan is facing a long road to recovery. The next several weeks will be spent in the hospital, where she will be learning how to walk, talk and eat again.

An online fundraiser was created to help the family pay for Lujan’s medical bills. Click here to donate to the GoFundMe page. 

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