The life of Xitclalli "Chilli" Vasquez, 9, took a tragic turn in the summer of 2011 when a drunk driver's car collided head-on with the car the Fort Worth, Texas, girl was riding in, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down.
Last week, on the day of convicted drunk
driver Jeremy Solis's
sentencing at Tarrant County
Court, Vasquez
had a chance to read him a letter she had written, a letter that brought Solis, the jury, and
everyone present in the court room to tears, witnesses said.
The four-page handwritten letter
presented to the jury was titled "From One of Your Victom." It
explained how Vasquez was going to the mall with her sister "to get my
hair cut and my nails done." That was all she could recall of the fateful
day of the crash. "I don't remember the first several days. I could not
talk, so I had to use my thumb to answer yes or no. While I was in UCLA I had
very bad moments. They take xrays of me every day. Feed me through by gbutton.
I had tubes through my mouth and nose."
"There were times that I would cry
and cry…in therapy they showed me how to lift myself and dress myself. But
right now it's still very hard. My mom does a lot for me but I try myself. There
are days that I cry cause I can't do what I used to. Well, I could keep going
but my hand is getting tired. I would like you to meet me and my family…there
are days that are bad because I have a hard time getting around. "
"Look at what I said and the words I said and tell me how I look and
feel. How do you feel today? Do you remember July 9th?"Vasquez, who is the third of five siblings, turned 8 three days after her July 9, 2011 accident. She is a fourth grader who has a talent for mathematics, and wants to be a doctor some day. Her dream is to walk again.
"I hope Jeremy would respond to my letter," Chilli told ABC News. "It will make me happy if he says he is sorry," she said. Chilli said she planned to send him more letters while he was serving his sentence and hoped he would respond.
The prosecutor for Solis's case, Allenna Bangs, said
that Solis was sentenced to 10 years in prison and would be eligible for parole
in five years. "There were no restitution charges. It was not a trial,
rather it was a plea case and he pleaded [guilty]," said Bangs. Solis
pleaded guilty to two counts of intoxication assault.
Bangs said that at the time of the
accident Solis's blood alcohol level was 0.23. "This is nearly three times
the legal limit. He is 21 years old with no criminal history," she said.
Amid Vasquez's ordeals with rehab and
therapy, her family said that she was a miracle child. "It is very
difficult when your child suddenly has a handicap. But no matter how bad it is,
we feel blessed to have Chilli with us and fortunate that she made it
alive," Arabella Vasquez,
Vasquez's mother, told ABC News. "She is a survivor. Many people die
because of drunk driving accidents but Chilli made it alive and we all have
faith she will walk again someday," she said.
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