Aid sought for North Fort Myers woman who lost legs helping crash victim

When Danielle Hagmann stopped along I-75 in Fort Myers early Sunday morning to assist another motorist who had crashed, she had no idea that it would have far-reaching consequences.

Her Good Samaritan move went horribly wrong as another motorist was not able to swerve out of the way, smashing into the crashed car and pinning Hagmann's legs against the guardrail.

A freelance licensed massage therapist who worked mainly out of the Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa at Coconut Point in Estero, Hagmann is now looking for her Good Samaritan. She remains in the ICU at Lee Memorial Hospital, one leg amputated just above the knee and the other mid-thigh.

Since Hagmann is considered an independent contractor, she has no health insurance and wasn't signed up for the Affordable Care Act. She is facing mountains of medical bills for her care and for prosthetics to possibly help her walk again one day.

Two gofundme.com pages  — one by her father and one by extended family  — have been started.  Friends and family are pitching in to help with the five children she and her spouse, Lyndsey Johns, are responsible for at home.

The North Fort Myers woman's father, Steven Berkowitz, said his daughter is an exemplary person who saw the original crash unfold and had to stop.

"She could not have driven by that accident," said Berkowitz, 64, of Cape Coral. "That's not in her nature. She does not regret stopping. She said she was meant to stop."

Her stepmother, Ellie Sheva, added: "If someone is hurt she is there with a first aid kit. We've always said she had the 'wounded sparrow' syndrome."

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According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Hagmann stopped to help Lauren Richardson of Ontario, California, who had been injured when she lost control of her car in a driving rainstorm and hit the guardrail.

Hagmann told her father later that she had placed Richardson in her SUV and was walking over to her wrecked Chrysler Sebring, which was resting partially in the right-hand lane, when an oncoming car hit Richardson's and pinned Hagmann.

Richardson was treated and discharged from Lee Memorial Hospital and was not available to comment.  The driver who hit her Sebring was not hurt. The Florida Highway Patrol is continuing an investigation into the crash.

Berkowitz said his 30-year-old daughter faces months, if not years, of therapy, medical care, prosthetic fittings and more. He said his daughter is hoping to move to a rehabilitation center within two weeks.

A church group near St. Louis, Missouri, has promised a powered wheelchair for Hagmann by next week, he said, but even with that help the bills will be a challenge. .

Prosthetics will cost $10,000 to $15,000 for each leg, Berkowitz has been told, and those have to be replaced every five years.

"We expect her medical bills to hit $1 million for care and prosthetics in the first year," he said. "And probably $2 million lifetime."

Despite the daunting future, he said, his daughter is eager to move on.

"She is in unexplainably good spirits," he said. "Everything happens for a reason, she said. But she's ready to strap on legs and start walking."

Johns has been at Hagmann's bedside almost nonstop since the crash, caring for her spouse.

"Dani is amazing," she wrote in a text to The News-Press. "She is super strong. Doing great. Very high spirits. She is my hero. Loved by so many. And we love and thank everyone."

An Ashtabula, Ohio native, Hagmann moved to Florida with her family when she was around 1-year-old, Berkowitz said, and she graduated from North Fort Myers High School in 2004.

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Her injuries are not keeping her down, Berkowitz said.

"She had plans to go to England with her best friend in July," he said. "She still has those plans."

Family plans to go to Disney World in May have been postponed, her father said, with tickets being cashed in and the money put into the mix for Danielle.

"We'll go later, we can race our wheelchairs together," joked Berkowitz, who uses a wheelchair due to several medical conditions.

Berkowitz said his daughter had been trying to further her massage knowledge by studying Reiki, a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.

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"She had her career goals ahead of her," he said, but is unsure what the possibilities are now.

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