An 81-year-old woman suffered catastrophic injuries and ultimately had both legs amputated after authorities say a suspected drunk driver plowed into her and her daughter as they dined at a Los Angeles restaurant.

Cristina Vargas and her daughter, Gabriela Vargas, had gone to Los Cinco Puntos, a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, on July 7, where they were sharing lunch with a friend.

Gabriela told KTLA the group had just settled in around 3.20pm and were saying grace when a woman who was allegedly impaired sped down the street, losing control before the vehicle crashed directly into their table.

‘I was lifting up my head and I just saw headlights and a bumper and I heard a big boom,’ Gabriela recalled in her interview with the station.

Surveillance video from the scene shows the terrifying impact unfold in seconds, with a white SUV barreling into the outdoor dining area, striking the table and the three people seated there before finally coming to a halt against the restaurant wall.

Gabriela, Cristina and their friend all suffered injuries, though the mother’s were the most serious. 

The daughter suffered a head injury and a deep laceration on her knee, but her mom was pinned under the vehicle, leaving her legs ‘just shredded,’ Gabriela told CBS News in July. 

Everyone involved in the crash, including the driver, was rushed to the hospital. After three surgeries, doctors determined that Cristina’s legs would have to be amputated, according to a GoFundMe for the family’s medical expenses. 

Cristina screamed ‘My legs! My legs!’ in Spanish as she lay pinned under the vehicle immediately after the crash, her daughter told CBS. 

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But the allegedly intoxicated driver seemed completely unfazed when she got out of her vehicle, Gabriela said.

‘She wasn’t doing much of anything except asking for a lighter for her cigarette,’ the daughter told KTLA. ‘It was just unbelievable.’

Police have not released the identity of the driver but reported that she was arrested for driving under the influence and was facing several felony charges. 

Since the crash, Gabriela and the male friend who was at the table have recovered and are out of the hospital. But Cristina is still undergoing physical therapy at a rehabilitation center.

Despite their serious injuries, the mother and daughter say their faith in God has not been shaken and that they are thankful to have survived the crash. 

‘In retrospect, now that I think back, I was like, He was protecting us,’ Gabriela told KTLA. ‘Because she’s alive. The injuries that I suffered, they’re not as bad where I can still care for her.’ 

The daughter said her goal now is to provide the best care possible for her mom ‘until God actually calls her. Because He didn’t call her. It wasn’t her time.’ 

According to the family’s GoFundMe, Cristina was left particularly devastated by the loss of her legs because she loved to dance. 

‘Her vivacious spirit and love for connecting with others made her a beloved member of the community. This sudden change is especially heartbreaking for someone who has always embraced life so fully and actively,’ the fundraiser page said.  

A North Carolina mother accused of killing her young son plans to pursue an insanity defense, a strategy that is already inviting comparisons to the case of Lindsay Clancy and prompting debate over whether similar arguments could appear more frequently in serious criminal prosecutions.

Andrea Faust, 41, faces charges of murder and attempted murder after authorities say her 3-year-old son died Feb. 12 and her 2-year-old son was injured during an incident at the family’s home in Durham, North Carolina.

Court filings show Faust’s defense team has notified prosecutors that it intends to argue not guilty by reason of insanity and diminished capacity, WRAL reported.

The Durham case is being viewed alongside Clancy’s ongoing case in Massachusetts. Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Jack Lu said the national attention surrounding Clancy could lead to more defendants raising similar claims tied to postpartum mental-health conditions.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility in the 2023 deaths of her three children. Her defense argued she suffered from postpartum psychosis, while prosecutors argue she understood her actions and acted deliberately.

Jurors ended a second day of deliberations Friday without reaching a verdict. They will return on Monday morning to continue working toward a verdict.

In Faust’s case, the filing does not establish that she was legally insane or had diminished capacity. Her attorney, Nicole Galinsky, told the local outlet that a defense expert concluded Faust could not distinguish right from wrong during the alleged murders.

“Andrea and Lindsay’s cases are eerily similar, though not entirely the same,” Galinsky told News Media.  

Galinsky noted that Faust was not suffering from postpartum psychosis. 

“However, both women were known to be loving, doting, responsible mothers who were worried about and caring for their children up until the very second they decided to kill them,” Galinsky said, adding that Faust and Clancy were both struggling with similar issues, including hallucinations, hospitalizations and mental health. 

“Neither woman did this out of the blue,” Galinsky said in an email. “Both were struggling enormously with their mental health. But, like most women and almost all moms, they were just trying to get through each day, care for their children, be a good mom/wife/employee. Both were seeking help from doctors who weren’t really taking their concerns seriously.

“Both of these cases highlight the failure in our society to take women and mothers seriously when it comes to their mental health. Both of these women advocated for themselves countless times and—for what? It got them nowhere.  

“I am hopeful that our case will demonstrate how to properly treat and rehabilitate a woman living her own worst nightmare. Lindsay Clancy was not given that luxury.”

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Lu said society and the legal system have not fully understood the effects postpartum mental illness can have on behavior and criminal responsibility.

“Most of the time, these criminal responsibility, insanity, mental health defenses are unsuccessful,” Lu told News Media.

Although he is not a mental-health expert, Lu said the Clancy trial has challenged and changed his own understanding of what a person might experience.

“I had no real understanding of what a person like Ms. Clancy was going through until this trial,” he said.

Faust was found incapable of proceeding to trial in March after court records documented serious concerns about her mental health and safety, according to WRAL.

Central Regional Hospital later found her capable of proceeding as of May 21. Her attorney said another evaluation would examine her mental state at the time of the alleged offenses.

Lu said mental-health defenses should receive more serious consideration because they can explain behavior and reduce moral culpability. But allegations involving children create an especially difficult path with jurors, he said.

“These cases should have legs,” Lu said, “but unfortunately society and juries don’t give them much credence.”

Novak Djokovic’s U.S. Open campaign came to a shockingly abrupt end.

The 24-time Grand Slam singles champion was beaten in the first round at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday night, falling to 25-year-old Mariano Navone in a five-set battle, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 2-6, 1-6.

Djokovic appeared unwell throughout the match, which lasted more than four hours. During the third set, the broadcast showed him vomiting on court, and after the fourth he took a medical timeout to receive treatment on his back.

After dropping the opening set, Djokovic seemed to rediscover both his rhythm and energy, taking the next two. But the momentum faded quickly as he struggled through the fourth set and looked visibly drained and in pain during the decisive fifth.

Navone, currently ranked No. 49 in the world, capitalized fully against the No. 4 seed, who had reached last year’s semifinals before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.

Novak Djokovic is out of the US Open after a stunning first-round defeat, marking his earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament in more than two decades.

The Serbian great had not lost at the opening hurdle of a major since the 2006 Australian Open. But, still chasing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title, Djokovic was beaten by unseeded world No 49 Mariano Navone in a five-set battle, 6(5)-7, 7-5, 6-4, 2-6, 1-6.

Djokovic began the season by reaching the final of the year’s first Grand Slam, even taking a set from eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. Nine months later, however, Sunday night’s loss at Flushing Meadows is certain to fuel fresh debate over how much longer the world No 5 can remain among tennis’s elite.

Navone, a clay-court specialist determined to drag Djokovic into punishing rallies and extend points at every opportunity, made life uncomfortable from the outset. Lasting four hours and 37 minutes, it became the longest first-round match of the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s career, and Djokovic never truly found rhythm.

The physical concerns were impossible to ignore. Djokovic had struggled with heat exhaustion during his bruising second-round loss at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, and in Flushing Meadows he was again sick multiple times during the third set.

The Serbian serial champion was in the sixth game when he was overcome with the issue, bent double at the back of the court as he voided his stomach. 

Despite throwing up again during the game, the 39-year-old held his serve, and went on to win his second set after dropping the first during an uncharacteristically error-strewn tiebreak. 

During the opening stages of the match – before the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof was closed due to inclement weather, Djokovic visibly struggled with the humid New York evening, rubbing his head with an ice bag and at times clutching his temples as if affected by a headache. 

In one of the early breaks in play, Djokovic went as far as to ask the supervisor if once the roof was closed, the air conditioning could be turned on. 

When play restarted following the roof’s closure, Djokovic took two tablets given to him by a tournament physio as he continued to grapple with the early stages. 

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Deep in the third set, Djokovic was also able to take on fluids shared with him by his team seated courtside, as his camp attempted to find a solution as the match ticked towards its fourth hour. 

In the stands, Djokovic’s wife Jelena looked desolate as her husband battled both his opponent and his own body, at times putting her head in her hands as she watched the match play out.  

After his defeat in Cincinnati to another Argentine, Thiago Agustin Tirante, Djokovic revealed that in recent years he had struggled with the heat more than ever after developing a health condition that has affected him ‘for the past couple of years’. 

‘(It causes) a lot of issues, especially when it is humid and it is hot,’ Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. ‘I did anticipate it, but there are all these things, like nerves and everything involved that make it worse, and that’s what happened.’ 

Post-puke, Djokovic appeared to regain his footing in the match as he saw out the third set, and claimed an early break in the fourth.  

But the Argentine proved he was down but not out with an immediate break-back which left Djokovic shaking his head in disbelief. 

After stopping the rot, Navone went on a tear, shutting Djokovic out of the set to force a decider and take the match towards hour five. 

Before starting the fifth set, Djokovic took on more tablets and received a medical timeout, with a US Open trainer massaging the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s lower back before he stepped out once again onto the tournament’s show court – after swapping his black match shirt for a clean white one. 

But the final set was a swift one as Djokovic unravelled at pace, at times looking visibly emotional as chances for one final miraculous comeback slipped from his grasp.