Dad waiting for Lyft to pick up 6-yr-old watched in horror as vehicle sped towards fiancè — he put his body in the way
Sometimes, days that start out normally often take the sharpest turns, the kind no one can prepare for. A dad, Bill Dehner, had set off with fiancè, Letitia Gaillard, to pick up his 6-year-old daughter from school. Both of them were unaware that within seconds, their lives would collide with a danger neither of them saw coming. The duo was standing outside Cornerstone Liquor & Wine in Arvada, waiting for a Lyft to reach school, as per 9NEWS.
While speaking to the outlet, Dehner shared how quickly everything shifted. “I was going to pick up my [6-year-old] daughter from school, waiting for a Lyft,” he recalled. “Next thing I know, I’m in a liquor store.”
According to the Arvada Police Department, the driver attempting to park suddenly lost control, sending the vehicle over the sidewalk and straight toward the couple. The car plowed into the storefront after jumping the curb, per the Aravada Press. In those split seconds, instinct overtook fear. "I just pushed her out of the way and the next thing I know, I am in the store. There is no thinking about, just doing," Dehner told 9NEWS.
Gaillard shared that she hadn't even registered the danger before she hit the ground. She wrote on a GoFundMe page that her knees throbbed with pain and her NeuroPace device, implanted to treat her epilepsy, began to hurt. According to the WHO, epilepsy affects around 50 million people worldwide and is marked by recurrent seizures that may involve involuntary movements, loss of consciousness, or disruptions in bodily control.
Emergency responders took both of them to the hospital. At the scene, a police officer informed Dehner that Gaillard was safe. Even then, his first thought was his daughter waiting at school. "I knew she was okay and I told them my daughter needed to be picked up and they went and took care of that," he said to NEWS.
Dehner’s injuries were far more serious than he initially realized. He broke his legs and has already undergone multiple surgeries. He assumed he might be out of work for six months to a year but was glad he protected his family. "Them before me," he said. "I would be here the whole time if I had to. Don't care. I love these two."
As Dehner faces a long recovery, Gaillard has turned to the community for support through GoFundMe, sharing the practical hurdles ahead. "Your donations can help us get a place in Arvada that has no stairs and can fit a wheelchair in it," she wrote on the GoFundMe page. She added that they also need “a vehicle that can fit him in it while he deals with being in a wheelchair for months and doing physical therapy in Arvada."
The driver has been cited for two counts of careless driving causing injury, although drugs or alcohol do not seem to be involved, as per the police.