The car crash on Sept. 20 severely injured Kyndra Luhr’s arm causing doctors to remove a portion of it. NBC 7’s Lauren Coronado reports.
A mother of two was recovering in a hospital Sunday after losing part of her arm in a deadly rollover crash in Escondido last month.
Kyndra Luhr was driving on Interstate 15 with her two young children, a 9-month old baby boy and a 4-year-old daughter, and her best friend. They were on their way to visit family in Alpine on Sept. 20 when her car collided with another and rolled several times.
One of the first people to rush to the scene was U.S. Marine Corporal Alexandra Nowak.
"Before the paramedics or anyone got there, they stopped their car, ran over, and undoubtedly saved her life right there," said Luhr's grandfather Brian Elmore.
U.S. Marine Corporal Nowak said she and another driver were able to remove the windshield to rescue Luhr. Her children were physically unharmed in the accident.
"She was asking, 'Am I going to die?' and I remember saying 'no, I'm not going to let you die'," Nowak recalled.
Nowak said Luhr's arm had become exposed in the crash and a lot of blood was coming out, so she ran back to her car and grabbed a tourniquet.
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"I never thought I would use that tourniquet other than marine combat training, but it saved her life," Nowak said.
Doctors later had to remove a proportion of her arm following the accident.
Luhr's new prosthetic arm is expected to cost up to $200,000 and her family said it will not be covered by insurance. They held a fundraising event on Sunday and created a GoFundMe page. In addition, Luhr's family will host several more fundraisers at Alpine Tobacco from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. each Sunday in October.
Elmore said they have not met U.S. Marine Nowak yet, but they're counting down the days.
"We love you and we can't wait to meet you and thank you for supporting our family in this fashion," Elmore said in a message to Nowak.
Elmore reports Luhr is taking everything day by day but couldn't be more grateful for the marine who she said saved her life.
