MEDLEY, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida man who survived being shot in the face following a road rage confrontation on Halloween spoke out about the traumatizing incident.
Speaking with 7News on Wednesday, Eury Cerda said he was nearly killed on the night of Oct. 31.
“It’s a miracle to be alive,” he said.
The survivor said the night began when he took his 6-year-old daughter trick-or-treating.
“We were matching costumes as Harry Potter this year,” he said.
But what looked to be a fun night of collecting candy quickly turned into a terrifying fight for survival.
As Cerda and his daughter traveled near the area Northwest 87th Avenue and 64th Street in Medley, he found himself in a road rage confrontation.
“I guess this person interpreted us as cutting him off, and he becomes enraged,” he said.
Surveillance video captured Cerda exiting his car to confront the other driver in an attempt to calm him down.
“I try to tell him I have my daughter in the vehicle, and I tell him, ‘You have also kids in your car,'” said Cerda.
Despite his attempt to defuse the situation, as Cerda began to walk away, the other driver exited his vehicle with a gun in hand.
“I had my hands in the air, and I tell him, ‘Are you going to shoot me? I have my daughter in the car,'” said Cerda.
With children watching from inside both vehicles, the other driver shot Cerda in the face.
Surveillance footage showed a shocked Cerda running across the street, narrowly avoiding being hit by another car that was passing in the opposite direction.
“What are you saying to your daughter?” 7News’ Sheldon Fox asked Cerda.
“I’m telling her, ‘Relax.’ She’s crying, she’s saying, ‘Daddy, what’s going on, what’s happening?'” Cerda said.
As he bled profusely from his mouth, Cerda got back to his car and drove himself to a Doral urgent care.
“Choking, coughing up on blood, then it’s just like, I’ve never been shot before, to thinking I’m gonna die,” Cerda said.
The bullet came within centimeters of striking his spine.
Cerda was in a coma for six days after it happened.
Cellphone video provided by Cerda’s family showed him in the hospital after he awoke, unable to speak as nurses gave him a vocal valve.
“Try to say your name,” a nurse tells Cerda.
“Eury,” he responded.
His family members are heard gasping after hearing him speak for the first time since the Halloween night shooting.
“Doctors told me it was a miracle,” said Cerda.
Despite his miraculous survival, he still has a long way to fully recover.
Cerda currently lives with tubes in his body, having lost nearly 20 pounds since the shooting, and undergoing continued therapy. His daughter has also been going to therapy after experiencing the traumatic event.
Many of the simple things he did for his daughter he still can’t do yet.
“Take her to school, make her breakfast, comb her hair, do the everyday important things as a father, to make sure she feels all the love,” said Cerda.
Authorities identified the man responsible for the shooting as 54-year-old Emilio Rodriguez, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue civilian employee.
Rodriguez was charged with attempted murder with a firearm.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Cerda with medical expenses. If you would like to make a donation, click here.
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