INVERNESS, Fla. — A local woman is lucky to be alive after risking her life to save someone else.
Victoria Moore, 45, is in the ICU at Ocala Regional Medical Center after troopers say she was hit by a teenage drunk driver. On Monday, she underwent her third surgery to amputate one of her legs. Her act of kindness turned tragic late Friday night on U.S. 41.
"Normally, it's me on the table, not her. This is it's not something I want to repeat," Victoria's husband Michael Moore said.
Moore sat outside the Ocala ICU where his wife had been for the last several days while he spoke out about the incident for the first time.
"Leading up to it was one of the best days we've had in quite a while. She got some tickets to the new 'Hunger Games' movie, so we decided to make Friday a date night which we haven't had over a year," he said.
The couple, who work opposite shifts, finally had time alone away from their three boys, but on the way back, just 4 miles away from home, they knew they needed to stop and help two men in distress.
"We came across the car accident that had just happened and we probably only missed it by maybe five minutes," Moore said.
Troopers say two men from Hernando County crashed on U.S. 41, North of Zephyr Street. A 75-year-old was trapped in his burning car.
"I was able to open the door and help him get him out of the vehicle before it was fully engulfed in flames," Moore said.
His wife, Victoria, called 911 and ran to help an 82-year-old man who couldn't get out of the other car.
"I heard a car approaching. I could tell it wasn't slowing down so I looked over and I saw this vehicle coming at a very fast rate. First thing I did was yell 'Get out of the way! Get out of the way,'" Moore said.
Troopers say a teenager was driving drunk behind the wheel when she hit Victoria and the 82-year-old, killing him.
"I ran to my wife who I saw was very injured and another bystander came over and gave me his belt. So I was able to put a tourniquet on her leg before it got too bad," Moore said.
She was taken to Ocala Regional about 45 minutes away and is still in the ICU.
"Right now, she's completely immobilized because of her broken pelvis and all that they don't want to move a lot and move her at all," Moore said.
The 17-year-old who hit her, Addison Lowdermilk, is now charged with DUI manslaughter.
"I'm still very mixed emotions. Even though my wife is laying in the hospital bed with her leg missing and a broken pelvis and all these other injuries and stuff, her first thoughts are always, 'We need to pray for that young lady.' There is forgiveness there, but it's going to be a long road ahead for everybody involved including her," Moore said.
Days later, Mike says their willingness to help is just ingrained in who they are.
"It's something we've done, I served 20 years in the military. I've served over in Iraq and Afghanistan. I've seen burning vehicles before that's why I don't even think twice about it. That's why when I saw her leg, I knew exactly what to do. I was more concerned about her and anything else," Moore said.
Despite the pain Victoria's gone through, he and his boys are grateful she's still here. Especially with the holidays around the corner. Mike's wife is his hero.
"My wife is a wonderful woman. I mean, even after all of this, even after everything that happened, she'll stop and help somebody again. That's just who she is. Even if she knew this was gonna happen, she was still going to do it. She wouldn't change a thing," Moore said.
Victoria has another surgery Tuesday afternoon for her pelvis. Her family says doctors should know more about how long her recovery will be. For now, the community in Inverness is working to support the family with medical bills and food during this time. If you'd like to help you can go straight to their Meal Train and GoFundMe.