‘I am very lucky because I’m still alive’: Pizza delivery driver recalls car driving into store

MIDVALE, Utah — A pizza shop employee hit by a car while inside the store is feeling very lucky to be alive.

That car came right through the front entrance of Big Daddy’s Pizza in Midvale on Friday night and hit Felipe Diaz, 55, who had just returned from delivering pizza.

“My back is no good. Too much pain,” Diaz told KSL TV’s Dan Rascon, who spoke to him inside the torn-up entrance of the store where he was hit.

Diaz broke his leg and messed up his back and neck. But looking at the video, he’s surprised he made it out alive. “I am very lucky because I’m still alive and I didn’t get pinned under the counter.”

All he remembers is a loud explosion. “Explosion in my head, I don’t know what happened. Everybody screaming. Felipe, you OK, you OK? I try and come back yes, yes, OK, OK.”

A nightmare of that night still haunts Diaz.

“I’m having a lot of dreams that someone is trying to kill me,” he expressed.

It was 8:10 p.m., and the driver was coming to pick up his pizza. He told employees that he accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the break.

“The driver was very sorry. He was crying,” said Biplove Timilsina, owner of the Big Daddy’s Pizza.

Timilsina said, looking at the video of the car plowing through the front entrance he, too, can’t believe Diaz made it out alive.

“He’s like the heart of this store. Now he’s in so much pain. It’s very hurtful to see him in this situation,” said Timilsina. He plans to rebuild and open up his store again within weeks.

Timilsina has set up a GoFundMe* account to help Diaz because this was his only form of income to support his family.

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*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.