HOMETOWN HEROES

Cyclist feels lucky to be alive after dragging

Last month, the story of cyclist Carla Hoffman being struck by a car and dragged up Main Street near the Howard Theatre received widespread media coverage in the Austin metropolitan area and online.

But Hoffman says the real story is not about the extensive injuries she sustained, nor about her painful and arduous road to recovery.

She wants people to know about the everyday heroes who saved her life.

“I don’t really want the story to be about me,” said the 33-year-old Coupland resident. “I would love to have those people that jumped into action that day to stop the car and lifted it off of me recognized.”

On June 14, just before 8 in the morning, a Chevrolet Cruz collided with Hoffman on her bicycle at the intersection of Third and Main streets and began dragging her — still wrapped in a tangle of her broken handlebars and break cords — more than 100 feet up Main Street.

Colby Burges, owner of C.B. Painting, who was preparing for an exterior renovation paint job at the Howard, alongside his assistant, Michael Machala, were the first eyewitnesses to spring into action to save the life of a stranger.

“We see Carla’s legs sticking out from under the car, and the car is still driving, so I initially thought, ‘Well, this car is going to stop any second now,’” Burges said. “But another second went by, and we realized the car is not stopping.”

Burges and Machala sprinted to the scene and began pounding on the car’s windows to try and get the driver to stop — to no avail. A few seconds later, Mark Anthony Palacios, owner of Good Ole’ Fashioned Oil and Lube, joined the effort.

“I was behind the car that actually hit Carla,” Palacios said. “I stop in the middle of the intersection and put my flashers on, leaving my truck running, and I run to the car.”

Simultaneously, Hoffman said her helmet was also busy saving her life, by protecting her head from massive, punishing road burn, which was also severely damaging parts of her back and other areas of her body.

“I just remember the sound of my helmet being dragged,” Hoffman recalled. “People were like, ‘Did it hurt?’ and I just tell them, ‘The adrenaline was so high at the moment, I didn’t feel pain,’ which is insane to say. But when I was stuck under the car, I just remembered a lot of voices. I call it commotion, because everybody was just like, ‘What are we going to do?’” Nonetheless, Avery Byrd, who had just turned southbound onto Main from Fourth Street, quickly saw what was happening and used her own vehicle to block the Cruz’s path, forcing the driver to finally stop.

“I jumped out of the car; I didn’t even have shoes on,” recalled Byrd, who was on her way to work. “We were just focused on Carla.”

According to police reports, no charges have been filed to date against the 55-year-old driver, who was reportedly unable to see Hoffman on her bicycle due to the glare of the sun in her eyes at the intersection.

Meanwhile, several other bystanders had gathered, including Channing Kingery-Boles, owner of the Howard and Taylor Soap Bar, as well as Hutto resident Lara Helms, who was with her son Wyatt Niles, 14, just as Taylor Police Officer Jesus De Hoyos arrived on the scene.

“It was really awesome how quickly we had first responders there,” Machala said. “The first police officer was there within seconds, within a minute.”

After the group was unable to quickly locate a jack, De Hoyos made the call for the group to lift the 3,000-pound vehicle manually off Hoffman.

“They lifted that car like it was nothing,” said Kingery-Boles, who assisted with pulling Hoffman out from under the vehicle alongside Helms and the officer. “It was the police officer who made that decision. He did say, ‘We are lifting her, and pull her.’ I just remember thinking I was so scared we were going to harm her.”

Helms said her son was one of five or six men who lifted the Cruz, including Machala, Tejae Race, Burges, Palacios and De Hoyos.

“Everybody helped,” Helms said. “My son said, ‘Nobody picked up phones. Nobody was recording it. Everybody just helped.’” And despite the traumatic scene, Helms said her son was so inspired by the events that he is even considering becoming a first responder himself one day.

“It has been a heartwarming experience for my son and me,” Helms said.

Niles was not the only teen involved in the rescue.

Machala, who recently turned 18, is a recent graduate of Thrall High School—and is coincidentally a power lifter.

“I was on the front bumper closest to the tire that she was next to, which was the front passenger side,” Machala said. “I was lifting it up there, and then my boss and the police officer were on the sides next to [Hoffman].”

Cindy Lopez, a clinical lieutenant and field paramedic for Williamson County Emergency Medical Services, said lifting the car off Hoffman was the right call.

“They were the first heroes,” Lopez said of De Hoyos and the group of civilians. “When I got the call that she was pinned beneath the car, I was like ‘How am I going to get her out from beneath this car?’ So, when I saw she was already outside of the car, it was so much help for me. What they did was amazing.”

Hoffman agreed.

“I had a sensation of not having enough oxygen,” Hoffman said. “What [they] all did that day was good stuff.”

Nonetheless, after emergency personnel arrived, Kingery-Boles said she felt like it was time to get out of the way — and ask God for help.

“I just got down on my knees on the sidewalk, and I just started praying for Carla,” she said. “And that’s when Lara said, ‘Are you praying?’... and I just said, ‘Absolutely.’ And then she said, ‘Would you like to pray with us?’” As Kingery Boles prayed with Helms and Niles, Burges said he and Machala were praying as well.

“I saw Michael doing it, and I thought I should do it as well,” Burges said. “I was just thanking God that I was there and that we could help and obviously that she would be OK, which was a big ask at the time because it sure didn’t look like it.”

Taylor Fire Department Chief Daniel Baum said Hoffman was indeed fortunate to survive the accident.

“It could have been a lot worse of an outcome,” Baum said. “Most of the time when it’s a bicycle versus an automobile, the automobile wins ... My observation is the helmet probably saved her life.”

Hoffman’s mother, Joan Maxfield, who is a nurse herself, said despite the many challenges her daughter still faces, they know she is lucky to be alive.

“I tell people, “If you have been through a neardeath situation, God has some purpose for you,” Maxfield said. “There is some reason. And it’s payback time one of these days.”

For her part, Hoffman said she is grateful for the outpouring of love from many of the bystanders and even emergency workers who have visited her in the hospital and at her home, and who check in with her regularly — as well as the larger community.

“I can’t say enough about the community support,” Hoffman said. “I went to Flake Bakery this weekend, and I had two people in tears saying, ‘I only met you once, but you are an inspiration.’ In my heart, it’s what makes Taylor special to me. I grew up here. I went to high school here. I have seen a change for better or for worse, but the people is what I believe this community is built on.”

Hoffman said she also plans to use this experience to raise awareness about bicycle safety.

“You know, God put me here for a purpose,” Hoffman said. “And I plan to start a little helmet giveaway for the kids back to school and just kind of preach, maybe even take the helmet and pass it around, and say, ‘I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for this thing right here.’”