Story By: Maja Mishevksa, Sub Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

This beautiful teacher who had her leg amputated after a driver ran a red light and crashed into her on her bike has said she has “forgiven” him for his actions.

Celeste Diaz is a biology teacher and athlete who lives in La Rioja, northwestern Argentina, and was run over in October 2018 by a man, identified as Lucas Rodriguez, 38, who ran a red light in his Toyota Hilux pickup truck.

The driver crashed into Diaz as she was cycling home and she has now revealed she has forgiven the driver after meeting him, saying: “I did not lie when I told I had forgiven him.”

She says she forgave Rodriguez a long time ago but she would not know if she had truly forgiven him until she came face-to-face with him

She said: “I met him and I felt huge peace for having him in front of me and I felt no grudge, hate or anger. Did I cry? Was I touched? Of course, because it was something that marked my life forever, and listening to him apologising for his terrible mistake was more satisfying than any sentence”.

Diaz had her right foot amputated after the accident which could have been worse if she had not been wearing a helmet.

She then reportedly suffered from an infection in her right leg and was taken to the municipality of Allende, in the province of Cordoba to undergo a further amputation.

She was hospitalised for a week and a half until she was released. After the recovery process, on 5th December she tried a prosthetic leg and could stand up. Two days later, she was able to walk again and she says: “My recovery was very fast, even doctors surprised. I think it has to do a lot with our own will”.

The woman, who has an eight-year-old daughter whose name has not been revealed, had to go to the trial against the driver who was charged with causing serious injuries.

She says that the driver apologised to her and “this is what I needed. Sometimes I wanted to hug him and say to him everything was going to be fine. People do not understand it, sometimes I do not even understand it myself”.

The driver pleaded guilty and was handed a suspended two-year prison sentence, along with a four-year driving ban which will see him carry out community service.

After the trial she posted online the message saying “nothing is going to get my leg back or my life back, I am okay knowing he is sorry”.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.