NewsFront RangeAurora

Actions

After serious crash, Aurora man thankful to driver at fault for staying with injured wife

Posted at 9:47 PM, Nov 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-23 00:32:50-05

AURORA, Colo. -- John Quigley has a lot to be thankful for. His wife, Shelly Sederstrom, almost didn't make it. She was clinging to life after she was hit by a car Sunday night and is now listed as stable at the Medical Center of Aurora.

Quigley got a phone call after he went to bed and Sederstrom had stepped out on a quick errand. She never came back.

"Your wife is at the hospital, she is in intensive care on life support' ... I immediately froze,” said Quigley. "Unfortunately, my wife stepped out and didn't see it. It was dark. Maybe my wife wasn't paying attention. It happened."

Quigley says Sederstrom was crossing the street near Joliet Street and East Mississippi in Aurora, when she was hit. She has a fractured pelvis, a fractured leg, a blood clot in her lung and bleeding on her brain, Quigley told Denver7.

He partially blames himself.

"She probably said, 'hey can you get up and go get me a pack of cigarettes or will you go with me? 'And I didn’t, I stayed in bed," said Quigley.

After all of that, Quigley wants to thank the person who accidentally hit his wife.

"The lady didn't mean to hit my wife. She was on her way home from work,” said Quigley. "I want to thank them wherever they are because I don’t know if she'd be here if they didn't stay on scene and get medical attention as quickly as possible."

Sederstrom has a long road to recovery but she'll be surrounded by family and friends this holiday to help her through. Quigley has a message for the woman who accidentally hit his wife:

"I just want her and her family to have a very nice Thanksgiving and a blessed Christmas because they gave me the best Christmas gift of my life by staying there."