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Survivors of deadly crash outside Brownsville migrant shelter recovering together

By: Christian von Preysing

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The bonds of a family are forming between three migrants staying at a home in Harlingen.

They're not related by blood, but by what happened to them — and what's occurred since then.

“Lots of people had a good heart for us, they've helped us,” Monra Quevedo said. 

The house in Harlingen is home to Quevedo, Gabriel Gallardo and Jose Luis Duran.

They all had plans when they crossed into the United States from Venezuela two months ago.

All that changed on May 7 when a driver crashed into a crowd of migrants on Minnesota Street in Brownsville in front of the Ozanam Center.

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Eight people were killed in the crash, and the lives of those who survived were changed.

“We didn't know each other, we met in the hospital after several days,” Duran recalled.

The trio is unable to work as they undergo their long recovery. They get support from volunteers of several nonprofit groups who cover the rent of the home.

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“To come here, have this happen and end up in bed, it's difficult,” Duran said.

The fractures are expected to slowly heal on the tibias and femurs of Duran and Quevedo. But for Gallardo, who lost his leg in the crash, recovery is more challenging.

He said he’s hoping for a prosthetic leg when his body gets strong enough.

“I hope with time this will get better, “Gallardo said. “I always have a phantom pain. I feel it in my leg, like an injury that I don't have, but everything cures with time."

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The three men aren't the only ones recovering from their injuries, and they're all depending on each other.

“It's helped us get better,” Gallardo said. “We talk to each other, and we're not alone. If you're alone, it hits you harder."

Quevedo says God let him live for a reason.

“Time will heal our injuries from the accident,” he said.

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The people who never knew each other before the crash are like brothers now, they said.

“I want this friendship to continue,” Gallardo said.

The migrants are currently seeking U Visas that are available for crime victims.  

The volunteer group supporting them worries that funds will dry up before they're fully recovered. 

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For information on how to help the survivors in their recovery efforts, contact Cindy Candida at 956-873-2712. 

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