Salvador Wilson came from the hospital to court in his wheelchair on Monday to see firsthand the man who pleaded not guilty to DUI charges related to a crash that severed his legs.
He talked about how difficult it was to face Terrence Conrad Meeks, accused of using his BMW to pin him and a 24-year-old man between his car and another car in the parking lot of Sam’s Hofbrau, an LA strip club, on March 10.
"I haven’t been able to sleep at night," Wilson said after Meeks appeared in court to face drunken driving charges at the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles. "I wake up in sweats. I see his face. I see the car coming and I can’t get it out of my head."
Meeks, 40, of Paramount, faces charges including on one felony count each of driving under the influence causing injury and driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol causing injury, along with allegations of great bodily injury and injury to more than one person.
His lawyer, Angelique K. Johnson, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Meeks drove into the two men, who were pinned against a parked Mini-Cooper, after leaving the strip club at Olympic Boulevard and McGarry Street, police said.
Wilson had both legs severed below the knee.
The second man had to have his right leg amputated after it was crushed.
There was no evidence the crash was the result of a hate crime, according to prosecutors.
There were reports that an argument may have broken out in the club and spilled outside in the early morning hours that day. But Wilson's attorney, Neil Steiner, said there was "no heated argument."
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
"We are in the process of investigating the facts of the incident," Steiner said.
Wilson said the court hearing brought back a lot of painful memories.
“It’s hard,” he said. “It’s turned my life around. I don’t have two feet. I don’t even think the challenges have hit me yet.”
