It was shortly after 6 p.m. on April 1 when Francisco “Paco” Munoz finished teaching a Latin dance class at Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club and began driving back to the Lozano & Osorio Tennis Academy at Timber Ridge, where he lives and works as a fitness trainer, massage therapist and teaching pro.
Munoz, who had celebrated his 39th birthday three days earlier, turned west onto State Road 510 and headed over the Wabasso causeway.
Before his Toyota Prius reached the bottom of the Wabasso Bridge, however, it was struck head-on by a Mercedes E350 driven by Harlow Woodward of Central Beach.
The 69-year-old Woodward, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Six weeks later, Munoz still has no memory of the head-on collision that left him unconscious for 10 days and fighting for his life in a Melbourne hospital.
“I don’t remember anything about the accident – the ambulance, the helicopter, nothing,” Munoz said, his voice weakened from the internal injuries that required intubation and multiple surgeries. “All I remember is driving out from Orchid Island.”
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Woodward’s eastbound car swerved into the westbound lane as it started over the bridge.
Though the crash is still under investigation, the FHP incident report also noted that, less than 30 minutes before the collision on the bridge, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office had issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) for the Mercedes, which had been spotted traveling north on U.S. 1 and identified as a reckless vehicle.
“The police haven’t talked to me,” said Munoz, who was flown by helicopter from the crash scene to the Holmes Trauma Center. “All I know about the accident is what people have told me – that the other car hit me head-on and the other driver died – and what I saw in the pictures.
“But all I remember is waking up in the hospital looking like RoboCop and asking what happened.”
By then, his brother and sister were at his bedside in the ICU at the Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. So were his parents, who flew in from Cozumel, Mexico, and plan to stay until their son has recovered enough to fend for himself.
His recovery, however, is moving slowly.
Munoz’s injuries included a fractured right femur, fractured right elbow, fractured sternum, sprained right ankle, perforated bowel and several facial hematomas. He also experienced post-operative complications that included fever and flu.
After being transferred late last month from Holmes to the nearby HealthSouth Sea Pines Rehabilitation Hospital, where he began physical therapy for his injuries, Munoz stayed only three days before he was rushed back to Holmes in the middle of the night because of severe abdominal and intestinal pain.
“They had to do another surgery,” Munoz said. “Whatever they did before didn’t work. There was still some internal bleeding.”
Last week, Munoz finally returned to Vero Beach, where he has resumed his physical therapy at the Health-South Treasure Coast Rehabilitation Hospital.
He can’t yet walk. Talking can be difficult. Restful sleep is a challenge, mostly because it hurts to change positions.
Some days are better than others, he said, but pain is as much a part of his daily routine as the three hours he spends doing the physical therapy he needs to get back on his feet.
He expects to remain at the rehab hospital for at least another couple of weeks before spending a month or two at home. Then he plans to return to his native Mexico for the rest of the year.
“The bones and muscles will heal, and I’ll be walking soon,” Munoz said. “My only concern is the inside part; I hope I don’t need more surgery. I’ll take the summer off, spend Christmastime with my family, then see how I’m feeling.
“That’s all I can do,” he added. “Take it day by day and focus on getting better.”
He’ll have plenty of support.
The morning following the crash, Orchid Island tennis director Jim Buck called Marco Osorio, Munoz’s friend for more than 20 years and his employer at the Timber Ridge-based academy for the past three.
“When Paco didn’t show up at the club, I sent him a message and he didn’t answer,” Osorio said. “But I didn’t know anything until Jim called me the next morning.”
Osorio immediately called Holmes, but the hospital refused to release any information. So he closed the pro shop, contacted Munoz’s family and then drove to Melbourne, where his friend was about to go into surgery.
The news spread quickly throughout the Timber Ridge tennis community, where members were stunned to learn what had happened to someone they liked, someone many of them considered family.
As they monitored his condition through the club’s employees, they sent get-well cards, called or left voice messages on Munoz’s phone and, in some cases, visited him in the hospital.
“The people here love him,” Osorio said. “Everyone always asks, ‘How can we help?’”
Club members Vern and Pam Barker were among those who made the trip to Melbourne and, this past weekend, visited Munoz at the rehab hospital here. He had helped both of them with their rehab work after they underwent knee-replacement surgeries.
“He’s just a very caring person, a very honest person, a very knowledgeable person,” Vern Barker said. “He’s a nice guy, a humble guy, as fine a young man as you’ll meet. He’s always willing to help. I think that draws people to him.
“He’s also very versatile,” he added. “He can help you with an injury, or if you’re coming back from an injury, or if you’re trying to prevent an injury. And if you need some help with your tennis game, he can do that, too. People have a lot of confidence in him.”
One of those people is 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov, who met Munoz at the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy in Naples in 2007, hired him as a personal trainer during the Miami Open this past March and worked with him whenever their schedules allowed.
Another is Jennifer Lane, a three-time Big East Conference No. 1 singles champion and Boston College Athletic Hall of Fame inductee who lives at Timber Ridge and still ranks among the best tennis players in town.
“I’ve worked with a lot of trainers, and he’s one of the best I’ve ever worked with,” she said. “I hope he’s able to get back to what he was able to do before the accident.”
That’s everyone’s hope.
“Whatever happens, whatever he needs, we’re here for him,” Osorio said. “When he’s better, if he wants to come back to work with us, we want him here.”
Munoz doesn’t know what his mended body will allow him to do. He won’t let himself think too far ahead.
But he is grateful for the love and support he has received, and his spirits continue to improve.
“People have been so good to me, and I’m very thankful for everything,” Munoz said. “I know I could’ve died in that crash, so I feel blessed to have this second chance.”
