Orphan loses leg to alleged drunk driver in Los Angeles

An 18-year-old California orphan has lost a leg and doctors are fighting to save his other one after he was struck by an alleged drunk driver while he was waiting at a bus top.

Gelvy Ortiz was on a bench near Wilshire Boulevard and 26th Street in Santa Monica on Jan. 2 when a car driven by John Edward Alevizos, 35, jumped the curb and slammed into him, KAKE reported.

“I was waiting for the bus and the car hit me. I lost my left leg,” Ortiz told ABC7 from his hospital bed at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Doctors who amputated the West Adams Preparatory High School student’s leg were fighting to save his right one after he suffered massive injuries.

Ortiz and his three brothers — who immigrated to the US from Guatemala in search of a better life — became orphaned at a young age when their mother died of breast cancer.

His oldest brother, 23-year-old David, told KTLA that life has not been easy since they lost their mom but they hope their fighting spirit will help them overcome their hardships.

“I came here four years ago. I came first, then I brought my siblings over because we are orphans,” he told ABC7, adding that they had lived with their 80-year-old grandmother before moving to the US.

David, who works two jobs to support his younger siblings, said he has been spending all his time caring for Gelvy and planning for his recovery once he returns home.

“We’ll need to rent a bottom-floor apartment. Our apartment is on the top floor. He won’t be able to get up the stairs,” he told the news station.

Gelvy, an avid soccer player who planned to join the US Army after high school, faces an uncertain future after the tragedy.

“I’m asking God to give me the strength to get through this situation,” he told ABC7.

Alevizos has been charged with felony driving while under the influence and has posted bail.

A GoFundMe account has raised more than $45,000 for the family as of Friday afternoon.

“Gelvy was a full-time high school student, who many describe to be smart and hardworking, as he always managed to obtain the best grades at school, regardless of the language and racial barriers he has faced,” the page says.

He “will need lots of therapy not only physically but mentally” as he prepares to get a prosthetic leg, it adds.