MIAMI — The wife and daughter of an Uber driver who was badly burned in a fiery crash on Interstate 95 said they desperately need the community's support.
The sound of sirens coming and going is routine for the Molina family as they walk outside the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami for a cup of coffee.
"For the past month and a week we've been here every day," Carla Molina said.
For her and her mom, Sandra Ospina, home is wherever Carlos Molina is. The 62-year-old father and husband was airlifted to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Oct. 25 after he was involved in a crash on I-95 in Delray Beach.
"It's hard to have a parent in the hospital, but it's even harder when that parent has been literally everything and has done everything to make you a better person," Carla Molina said.
WPTV sat down with Carla and her mom Sandra, who speaks Spanish. They wanted to share more about the man they know and love.
Carlos Molina is the Uber driver who was badly burned in the fiery crash involving a tanker and another vehicle on I-95 in Delray Beach. Molinas' car, along with two passengers inside, was engulfed in flames.
"My husband is a hero too, because he saved the lives of all three," Sandra Molina said in Spanish. "If my husband hadn't done what he did with the car, the three would have exploded."
Carlos Molina suffered second and third-degree burns. His family shared personal photos with WPTV of him in the intensive care unit.
“His face, his arms and legs were the ones that were mostly severely burned," Carla Molina said. "They were deeper burns."
His initial discharge from the hospital was short lived. Seventy-two hours later, he was intubated as he battled an infection in his lungs and blood.
"He said goodbye to us and we told him, 'No, my love, don't tell us that, you're going to be fine. We're all going to be happy again,'" Sandra Molina said. "He told me, 'I'm already tired. I can't take it anymore.'"
Sandra Ospina said her husband was the head of the household and is loving, kind and funny.
"My husband was the one who supported my home. He was our everything," she said. "We made this page for him and we want people to give $5, $1. We are not asking for more."
With a long recovery ahead, the family set up a GoFund me page hoping someone will donate as much as a dollar.
"I hope that no one ever has to go through this to see their dad decline in health," Carla Molina said, "because it's the hardest thing and I think it's even harder when your parents have been so amazing and have given up so much."
Now the Molina family can only wait and hope for the best.
