\n Javi Mellafe remains close to her mother’s side as she recovers from serious injuries sustained in car crash | Image by Sofia Basurto\/GoFundMe <\/p>\n
A Plano woman is recovering from critical injuries after authorities say a suspected drunken driver rear-ended her vehicle early Sunday, causing it to roll and eject her through the sunroof.<\/p>\n
Myrna Mellafe was driving near State Highway 121 and Independence Parkwa<\/a>y around midnight when 21-year-old Xander Jaymes Smith allegedly struck<\/a> the back of her vehicle, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Fox 4 KDFW reported.\u00a0 Mellafe was thrown about 40 feet from the vehicle and found unresponsive.<\/p>\n Smith was arrested at the scene and charged with intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury, according to authorities.<\/p>\n Mellafe was transported to Medical City McKinney, where she was treated<\/a> for a severe brain bleed, a fractured pelvis, a fractured shoulder, and injuries to multiple organs, including her lungs, kidney, and liver, according to her family.<\/p>\n Her 17-year-old daughter, Javiera \u201cJavi\u201d Mellafe, said she learned about the crash after receiving an emergency notification from her mother\u2019s phone. The phone\u2019s GPS location remained stationary for more than 50 minutes, prompting Javiera to ask friends to drive her to the location.<\/p>\n \u201cI immediately ran into the scene,\u201d Javiera said, per Fox 4. \u201cI saw her car. Her car was complete loss, like just completely damaged.\u201d<\/p>\n At the hospital, Javiera said doctors initially prepared the family for the possibility that her mother might not survive.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember just the way they were looking at me and speaking to me just seemed as if they thought she was gonna die that night,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Family Says Mellafe Is Showing Signs of Improvement<\/p>\n Despite the severity of her injuries, Mellafe has shown<\/a> signs of progress, according to an Instagram post by her alumni association.<\/p>\n She has opened her eyes, begun talking, and has been taken off a ventilator. She is scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday, although her family says she still faces a lengthy recovery from the traumatic brain injury and other injuries.<\/p>\n