Neighbors in Hudson Valley, New York, are offering their support to a young woman left paralyzed following a dirt bike accident on July 13.
Eighteen-year-old Jazmin Torres was spending a few days at her favorite motocross track helping others prepare for a racing event when the unthinkable happened.
The day after the race, she was riding a dirt-bike when it slid into a fence post, her family told News 12.
“During the accident, she hit her head and broke four vertebrae, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down,” the article read.
Jazmin’s father had been excited about watching his daughter move forward in life following her high school graduation, but the accident changed everything.
“It’s almost overwhelming, you know. You start thinking about the things that you’re gonna need and it’s like the weight starts to get hard, heavier and heavier and heavier,” he explained.
However, when Jazmin’s sister started a GoFundMe page to help in her recovery, the community showed up in a big way.
In the first week, people donated $29,000, money that would go toward medical expenses, a wheelchair, hospital bed, and home renovations such as a ramp, wider doorways, and an accessible bathroom.
“Then I started to see people donating and I saw people from the motocross community who I didn’t even know knew Jazmine,” her sister recalled.
As of Friday, the page had raised $29,829 of its $100,000 goal.
“Anything donated will go directly to improving Jazmin’s quality of life as she tries to find a new normal after this accident,” the site read, adding, “Anyone who knows Jazmin knows she is a stubborn, free-spirit.”
Jazmin’s family said she was humbled by the community’s generosity and support and remained hopeful that she would one day be able to ride again.
“It’s gonna happen… she’s gonna be able to ride,” her dad concluded.
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