A family man is fighting for his life two weeks after an Amtrak train crashed into his tractor as he was working to clear the tracks in Oakland.
The family is struggling with the fact that Salvador Manzo Ruiz, husband and father, is hospitalized and they were told "that his life wasn't promised."
NBC Bay Area sat down with Salvador's family, and his daughter, Karla Alvarez said her mother prays her husband will come home.
"Everyday she goes to the hospital, she sees my dad and she just breaks down," Karla said.
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Salvador, who goes by Sal, was working in a tractor clearing debris from homeless encampments for Union Pacific when his rig was hit.
The impact left him with a brain bleed and several fractures to his ribs, chest and back. Doctors also had to amputate both of his legs.
"It's really hard. It's something that me and my family never expected to have happen," Karla said. "It's something that is going to change me and my family's lives forever."
Salvador is awake at the moment, but still doesn't know the full extent of his injuries. Doctors said more surgeries are on the way.
The family told NBC Bay Area Salvador was the sole provider.
"He was our support. He provided everything for me and my family," Karla said.
The family is still trying to understand how the accident happened and wonders if a lack of communication is to blame for the accident.
Karla said in 16 years of working for Union Pacific, safety was always her father's priority.
"There should've been somebody there that should have said that my dad was sill on the tracks, that he was there, to hold back the train because he was there," Salvador's wife said in Spanish as her daughter Karla translated.
The accident happened just weeks after the family celebrated buying their first house. Now, they're celebrating Salvador's 40th birthday from a hospital room and hope each day will bring progress.
"She believes that God has a reason for him to be here with us," Karla said translating her mother's words. "It's very scary for her because its going to be a big challenge."
