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MIDVALE — A pizza shop employee hit by a car while inside the store is feeling very lucky to be alive.
That car came right through the front entrance of Big Daddy's Pizza in Midvale on July 22 and hit Felipe Diaz, 55, who had just returned from delivering pizza.
"My back is no good. Too much pain," said Diaz to KSL-TV, who spoke to him inside the torn-up entrance of the store where he was hit.
Diaz broke his leg and messed up his back and neck. But looking at the video, he's surprised he made it out alive. "I am very lucky because I'm still alive and I didn't get pinned under the counter."
All he remembers is a loud explosion. "Explosion in my head. Next is, I don't know what happened. Everybody screaming. They say, 'Felipe, you OK?' I try and come back, come back, come back."
A nightmare of that night still haunts Diaz. "I'm having a lot of dreams that someone is trying to kill me," he expressed.
Felipe Diaz recalls the car driving into the store and hitting him. It was 8:10 p.m., and the driver was coming to pick up his pizza. He told employees that he accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
"The driver was very sorry. He was crying," said Biplove Timilsina, owner of Big Daddy's Pizza.
Timilsina said, looking at the video of the car plowing through the front entrance that he, too, can't believe Diaz made it out alive.
"He's like the heart of this store. Now he's in so much pain. It's very hurtful to see him in this situation," said Timilsina. He plans to rebuild and open up his store again within weeks.
Timilsina has set up a GoFundMe* account to help Diaz because this was his only form of income to support his family.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
