'I will die if I wait': Inside a mom's long, traumatic road to recovery after she was pinned by vehicle

FISHTOWN - A Fishtown mother of two nearly lost her life this past Memorial Day weekend after a driver hit and pinned her under a car. She is speaking out about her long road to recovery.

"Terrifying. Scary," Sabrina Anwar stated, of her ordeal.

It was at the intersection of Huntingdon and Sepviva on May 24th, where the 35-year-old mom was walking to her kids' preschool for parent-teacher conferences. She never made it, as she was struck and pinned under a car.

She’s finally home, after weeks of treatment at the hospital.

"I was walking. I was about a block away from the school and I was crossing the street," Anwar said. "I remember looking both ways and there were no cars and the next thing I know, I was laying on the asphalt, on the gravel. On the ground."

A driver quickly hit her, nearly crushing her. She described the scene and her thoughts while the terrifying moments played out, "I was hit by a car on my left side and she did stop, but when she did, the car was on top of me. So, the wheels of the front of her car were on top of my pelvis. I remember going into problem solver mode and saying I have to do two things. I have to get out from this car. If I stay, I will die, if I wait."

Thanks to Good Samaritans who lived nearby and heard her screams, they made their way over lifting the car. "I guided them to lift the car up off me, so counted to three and it took a couple tries."

Taking the little bit of upper body strength she had, she pulled herself out of the way until paramedics arrived.

"The entire pelvis was open and my entire sacrum was crushed," Anwar explained. "I also had fractures in my lumbar spine, so I wear a brace for that and cervical fractures, which is why I have the neck brace."

The traumatic injuries forced doctors to sedate her for a few days. She then spent weeks in the hospital and then weeks at a nursing home before making her way back home.

She is on a long road to recovery, which includes healing from pelvic surgery, in hopes she will walk again soon. "It’s hard. It’s incredibly painful, I’ll be honest. "The pain management has been really difficult."

Her children’s pre-school, the Cora Early Years Huntingdon Mills, has been advocating for more safety measures in the area, like speed bumps.

Two of them are now installed on Huntingdon Avenue, with the help of Philadelphia District One Councilmember Mark Squilla, saying, in part, "Given the number of children in the immediate area utilizing the daycare and Pop’s Rec Center, the speed bumps will help to keep them safe when crossing the street."

The daycare sent a statement to FOX 29, saying:

"We are very encouraged to see movement here and very grateful to Councilmember Squilla and his staff for moving this along, but would also love to see this area become safer for children and families to move freely about the community."

Something Anwar says moving forward matters, "My message to drivers is to be careful. It’s not worth it. Like whatever appointment or party or thing that you’re doing, it’s not worth your life and it’s not worth someone else’s life."

A GoFundMe was set up for Anwar and her family during her recovery.