Regina Smith was hit when she was crossing the sidewalk on S. Zarzamora Street on June 7.
SAN ANTONIO — 49-year-old Regina Smith has lived in San Antonio for 28 years. She was born with spinal bifida, hypoplasia, and clubbed feet.
On June 7th, she says she was hit by a pickup truck driver at a 7-Eleven on South Zarzamora Street and hasn’t been able to use her electric wheelchair since.
Sitting in grief, Smith remembers leaving a dollar store on Zarzamora to the bus stop to go home.
At the scene, SAPD investigators learned a driver was leaving the 7-Eleven parking lot and didn’t see Smith when they hit her.
Smith’s arm was hurt in the crash and she had to be taken to the hospital without her wheelchair.
San Antonio Project Mend provides wheelchairs at no cost to anyone showing medical proof.
Its staff says situations like Smith’s happen more than you think.
“It does happen, unfortunately. Depending on what type of vehicle you’re in, you may not be able to see that person either getting ready to enter a crosswalk or exit a crosswalk. So, we have had calls where people have been hit,” said Dexton Moon, Chief Operating Officer at Project Mend.
For Smith this is the second time being hit on South Zarzamora Street.
“I was struck up there on Zarmazora at the other end too and my wheelchair did a 360. My whole seat broke off. It took me almost two years getting another wheelchair,” said Smith.
Project Mend encourages anyone wheelchair bound to wear a yellow vest and have a safety flag on their equipment.