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Tempe wrong-way crash survivor out of ICU

Posted at 6:28 PM, Mar 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-29 09:29:23-04

Kipp Nichols doesn’t remember the moment of impact. 

“I didn’t see any lights I didn’t see the car,” he told ABC15. 

Around 2 a.m. March 17, Nichols was driving home to Wittmann after visiting with friends in Apache Junction. 

He was in the westbound HOV lane on Loop 202 near McClintock Drive when DPS officials said 25-year-old Angela Gutierrez was driving the wrong direction and crashed into him. 

Nichols’ SUV rolled three times before landing upside down. 

“There was someone talking to me saying, hey are you ok? Are you ok?” he said, moments before first responders pulled him out through the window.  

“The whole time I couldn’t really see that well cause I had some glass in my eyes, so it was all very blurry.”

Gutierrez died in the crash. Nichols spent four days in the hospital, suffering broken hips, a broken femur, and a collapsed lung. 

“I could’ve easily died,” Nichols said. Doctors told him it would be several months before he can walk without crutches. 

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses.

The Loose Cannons Motorcycle Club is hosting a benefit car and bike wash at The Monastery Bar & Grill in Mesa on Sunday, May 6 at 1 p.m. 

Money raised will go to help with Nichols’ medical expenses and the group's effort to raise awareness about wrong-way drivers.