MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A husband and father of two, who had been in a medically-induced coma after surviving a hit-and-run crash, is finally awake and communicating with his wife.
Natalie Alvarez said she received the call Thursday that she had been waiting for.
“It was his nurse saying, ‘He said he’s bored and he wants to speak to his wife.’ And I’m like, ‘Who said?’ ‘Your husband!’” she recalled. “And I’m like: ‘Husband, no. You must be talking about a doctor. My husband isn’t awake, he can’t speak.’”
Alvarez said her husband, Royale “RJ” Otero, is now communicating over their video calls by mouthing words and making gestures with his hands.
“The first thing he asked was to speak to me. I broke down in tears, I tried to hold it together. Because I never knew that moment would ever come,” Alvarez said.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, it was just after 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 4 when the driver of a 2020 black Nissan Rogue collided with Otero’s Infiniti in the eastbound lanes of the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
The driver of the Nissan abandoned the car, taking off on foot, according to troopers.
The incident report showed the Rogue was registered to the Hertz Corporation, a car rental company but there was no record of it being rented at the time. The SUV was “probably taken out of their lot” at the Miami airport location, according to the trooper’s report.
Alvarez hopes the driver comes forward.
“I don’t now how you can sleep at night. You left my husband dying and bleeding out. You could have helped,” she said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Florida Highway Patrol. Dial STAR FHP (*347) on any cell phone.
A GoFundMe for Otero has been set up. To help, click here.