FOX 11 catches up with 2 sisters seriously injured in Hollywood DUI crash

FOX 11 catches up with 2 sisters injured in Hollywood DUI crash

LOS ANGELES - FOX 11's Hal Eisner is back to work after a March accident in Hollywood that injured him, one of our photographers and several others. He caught up with two sisters who were also seriously injured in the crash.

This was the first time FOX 11 photographer Joab Perez and reporter Hal Eisner were meeting Gina Phillips Lawrence and her sister Jennifer. The two sisters live on an Indian Reservation in Washington State.

But, on Friday, March 19th the sisters and we were hit by a suspected drunk driver in Hollywood. Says Jennifer, "...being hit by the vehicle directly and pushed inside of the building all of my damage is on my left side."

Jennifer, who had several broken ribs, a broken tailbone and a badly crushed leg who said, "My left was flat. There was no structure to it." The 46-year-old says she must have been in shock because she didn’t feel the pain as much as she did with the fear that her sister might have been killed.

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And, Gina was in a very precarious position! Says Gina, "The truck was on me and I didn’t know where my sister was and I was panicky about that. I still have tire marks on my backside from it."

FOX 11 crew members injured after vehicle crashes into building in Hollywood

Five people were injured Friday afternoon after a vehicle crashed into a building at Hollywood and Highland. Among those injured were two FOX 11 crew members, reporter Hal Eisner and photographer Joab Perez.

She says an unidentified good Samaritan managed to pull her from under the tire by grabbing her clothing. Gina says, "He just yanked me out and right after that... firemen came." During our Zoom interview, Joab looked at Gina and said, "When I came to I saw you and just remembered feeling just horror and just remembering wanting to help." But, he couldn’t. He was too injured.

Meanwhile, Jennifer was struggling with a crushed leg and multiple injuries. Both women have had to have multiple surgeries. Gina needed to have one because a prior surgery from the crash "started to get an infection." Jennifer had "Five surgeries total right off the bat."

Gina spent a few weeks in LA Hospitals. Jennifer... two months. This, after what was supposed to be a fun sister trip.

Posing with movie characters like Spider-Man in costume on Hollywood Blvd., gazing at their favorite stars’ hands in concrete and all the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They even staying at a local hotel known for being haunted.

Jennifer likes that sort of thing. She says, "The Hotel Normandy is one of the seven most haunted hotels in all of California.

But, the biggest scare was the real-life one on Hollywood Blvd. Phillips says, "I had a closer brush with the spooky scary stuff than I ever imagined was going to happen on that trip."

Joab told Gina on the Zoom call, "I’m just so glad you guys are on the recovery."

Jennifer says, "My recovery is going really really well... as well as can be expected. It’s going to be a long road. One to two years, they say, for me to heal." She also says she’s been battling PTSD, nightmares and depression.

And, Gina, she says, "I’ll never forget." This while Jennifer says, "We’re just blessed. I just feel blessed. I’m blessed to have my life. I’m blessed to have the people in my life that I do. It’s just been an extraordinary experience. One I hope I never repeat."