Milwaukee woman loses leg after helping push a stranded car

MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee woman is sharing the devastating impact of a car crash from her hospital bed.

Gabrielle January was pushing a stranded car a few weeks ago when another vehicle smashed into her.

Gabrielle says she was just trying to lend a hand, but she ended up losing her leg.

"I should be dead and I'm alive by the grace of God,” she said.

Back on July 6, Gabrielle and her son were on their way to celebrate her birthday with family when her niece’s car broke down late at night in the middle of 76th Street.

"I had the hazard lights on, there were people around,” she said.

Gabrielle thought pushing the car to the shoulder of the road was the right thing to do.

"What do you do? What are the rules? You leave the car for a build-up for five people to get in an accident?" Gabrielle said.

But before they got the car to budge, another driver hit Gabrielle from behind, pinning her between the two vehicles.

"I woke up so scared,” she said. “I woke up and I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what was going on. It was just machines."

Nick Jarmusz with AAA says a growing number of people are killed each year while outside of a disabled vehicle.

“An active roadway is an incredibly dangerous place to be,” he said.

“What is the safest thing to do in that situation?” TMJ4 reporter Ben Jordan asked.

“Unfortunately, the safest thing to do in a situation like that is to either stay in the vehicle while you wait for assistance to arrive with your seat belt buckled so that you're still getting the protection of that, or if you can safely get away from your vehicle outside of traffic lanes and get to a place where you can safely wait for assistance to arrive,” Jarmusz said.

The police report shows the driver told officers that by the time he saw the stranded car, he was unable to slow down or swerve out of the way.

Milwaukee Police say the driver didn’t get any traffic tickets and they won’t be referring criminal charges.

"I'm a human being and I'm in pain and I feel like this isn't fair,” Gabrielle said.

Gabrielle says she’s facing mounting hospital bills and a steep flight of stairs she won’t be able to climb when she goes home.

"The only thing I'm scared about is how am I going to get in my house,” she said. “I don't have a ramp, I have stairs. How am I going to get up there? How am I going to get out?"

Gabrielle says she’s spent her life helping others. Now she’s the one asking for help. She created a fundraiser to get a ramp installed as she prepares for a life with a prosthetic leg. If you would like to contribute, click here.

"I could pay them back. If they could donate in any way. If they don't have any money, then just pray,” she said.

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