‘I’m lucky to be alive’: Arizona mother recovering after being struck by suspected drunk driver

PEORIA, Ariz. — Dash camera video shows the moment a suspected drunk driver struck several cars in the West Valley.

The woman in the car who took most of the impact told 12News she’s not ready to watch the video, and possibly never will be. 

“I can just feel it, and I’ll trust everyone that just says I’m lucky to be alive,” Jordan Adams said.

Adams spoke with 12News from her hospital bed, where she’s still being treated for serious injuries from the crash. 

She said she was driving home from work and waiting to turn left at the intersection of 91st Avenue and Union Hills Drive when a car travelling at a high rate of speed from the other direction slammed into her.

She doesn’t remember the moment of impact.

“All of the sudden, I hear someone banging on the hood of my car, yelling, and just asking are you okay and them trying to open the doors,” Adams said.

Adams was stuck in her car and unable to move.

“I knew something was wrong because I could feel without looking down that the upper part of my leg was turned in and the lower part of my leg felt like it was turning out,” Adams said.

She’s since undergone surgery, and with several broken bones, she won’t be able to walk for the foreseeable future.

“Definitely will be an adjustment going from super busy, being on my feet, and working six days out of the week to not being able to work at all,” Adams said.

According to Peoria Police, the driver who hit her is suspected of having been impaired and is expected to face felony charges.

The driver was arrested and released pending blood test results.

“I don’t understand. One drink, two drinks, 15 drinks. Like, we’re adults, be responsible,” Adams said.

The crash was extremely personal for Adams’s boyfriend, Will Woods.

“My sister was hit and killed by a drunk driver about 10 years ago,” Woods said. “I drove by (Adams’s) car, and what I saw was somebody that I thought I was going to show up to the hospital and not see anymore.”

Woods wants drivers to consider the danger to everyone on the road before getting behind the wheel impaired.

“We have all these things. We have rideshares, we have friends, we have family. Why? Why pick it up? Why hop in the car and do that? Stay conscious and think about what you’re doing to people, potentially,” Woods said.

Adams’s recovery will be lengthy, but she’s looking forward to going home to her three children.

“I’m very grateful to still be here,” Adams said.

A fundraiser was created to help Adams during this difficult time.

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