She was told she’d never move again. Two months after the crash that left her paralyzed and fractured nearly half her body, she began to defy that. And while she grieves alongside five other families, she’s learning what it means to keep going.<\/p>\n
Zalia Oliva was just beginning to shape her future \u2014 college classes, career goals, and a new relationship that had quickly grown into something serious. But in one unthinkable moment, everything came to a halt. She survived a devastating car crash that claimed two lives.<\/p>\n
While she lived, it was because her boyfriend didn’t. The collision left her paralyzed from the neck down, forcing her to relearn how to live in a body that no longer followed her lead. Nearly a year later, a small movement offered something she hadn’t felt in months \u2014 hope.<\/p>\n
Before the accident, Oliva was a freshman at Grand Canyon University, pursuing a degree in criminal justice with plans to join the LAPD. She shared a dorm with her sister and kept a routine centered around classes, fitness, and close friendships.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In November 2023, she met Shane Johnson through an online platform, and their bond formed quickly. “We basically lived together, were together every day after work and school, and always spent the night,” Oliva\u00a0told People magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
They attended church on Sundays, spent time with Johnson’s friends, and settled into a rhythm that felt steady and full of promise. On April 14, 2024, Oliva and Johnson planned to meet up with their friends, but the day spiralled out of control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The car they were in crashed into a house in Phoenix, instantly killing Johnson. One of their friends, Aiden Ellis, also didn’t survive. Oliva, critically injured, was pulled from the wreckage and rushed to the hospital. She sustained\u00a0multiple fractures to her face, skull, wrist, ribs, and pelvis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The most severe injury was to her neck \u2014 two broken vertebrae, C5 and C6 \u2014 which left her paralyzed from the neck down. Oliva said she has no memory of the accident and learned what happened from her sister.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She spent nearly a month in a coma and close to three months in hospitals across Arizona, according to\u00a0a report. Her first major hurdle was learning to breathe without a ventilator. During her second hospital stay, she was gradually weaned off it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“My mom and I cried the first time I said ‘I love you,'” she\u00a0said, recalling the moment she could finally speak again after six weeks of silence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In the weeks after the crash, no one wanted to tell Oliva that Johnson had died. Friends and family members worried that if she knew too soon, she might stop fighting to recover. It wasn’t until two months later\u2014at the second hospital she was transferred to\u2014that she learned the truth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“In the car accident, my boyfriend was laying on top of everyone,” she\u00a0said. “He was lying across everyone and he passed away on impact in the car, so he passed away in my arms.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In a post shared weeks after the crash, Zalia wrote that Shane had saved three people, including her. “I am beyond blessed that I was one of them,” she\u00a0wrote\u00a0in a tribute. She described him not only as her partner but as her best friend, someone who brought joy and stability into her life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She remembered how he introduced her to his circle of friends, who quickly became like family. They had filled their time with dates, hockey games, movie nights, and weekends surrounded by laughter. Faith was something they shared, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In the same post, Oliva included\u00a0notes\u00a0from the last Sunday service they attended together: “Bless someone the way you want to be blessed,” “If you can’t bless, you can’t forgive,” and “Use what God has done in your life to help heal others.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She ended the message with a personal\u00a0sign-off\u00a0that said, “Never forget ‘ITS US [sic].'” Beneath it, she wrote his full name and the date of his demise: Shane Brian Johnson, April 14, 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She continues to honor his memory, cherishing\u00a0the sacrifice\u00a0he made. On Valentine’s Day 2025, she\u00a0posted again. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” she wrote. “I’m so blessed to be the last person you loved. I love you until your last breath and so on.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After months in Arizona hospitals, Oliva returned to her family’s home in Carlsbad. She had spent close to a month in a coma and several weeks learning to breathe without a ventilator. “I think I’ve just gotten used to it. It’s like, ‘Oh, this is every day now.’ I’ve lived it for eleven months,” she\u00a0stated\u00a0in March 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Her mother, Rozlyn Sturtevant, was a self-employed business owner and a single parent before the crash. After the accident, she gave up her work to become Oliva’s full-time caregiver.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“The only thing I could do is surrender,” Sturtevant\u00a0said. “And lean on faith, and on God.” She described the early months as mind-numbing, relying heavily on community support and the kindness of strangers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
At home, Oliva began adjusting to life with paralysis. “It’s more than just a broken neck,” she\u00a0said. “I can’t feel from my chest down, my fingers don’t move, and I need help 24\/7.” Sitting in one position too long could trigger discomfort and a need to be tilted in her wheelchair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Still, she focused on what progress might be possible. “I’m fine walking, not walking \u2014 just as long as I can gain as much mobility,” she\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On March 7, 2025, Oliva posted a short clip on TikTok that captured something she hadn’t experienced in 10 months. “Being paralyzed for 10 months and I moved my leg on my own for the first time today,” she\u00a0wrote across the screen. In the background, her mother’s reaction could be heard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“It was a happy moment,” Oliva later\u00a0shared. The movement came as a surprise. “I honestly thought it would be my fingers moving first,” she said. “I started making peace with my wheelchair, but then that happened, and I thought, ‘There’s hope. Something’s going to happen.'”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Since then, the signs of progress have continued, even if slowly. Her quad muscles activate when she shifts her body forward and backward. Sometimes, when she stretches, her legs or feet respond. Each small signal is a step forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In early March 2025, Oliva, her mother, and her aunt traveled to Portugal after learning about a retired physiotherapist who had agreed to take her on as a patient. The journey took more than 30 hours door to door. “It was rough. Thirty-one hours door to door. I didn’t sleep a wink,” Sturtevant\u00a0said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Oliva’s take was simpler. “It was fine. I liked it. It wasn’t bad,” she\u00a0said<\/a>. The trip was made possible through community donations, and the therapy sessions in Portugal brought results that no prior rehabilitation had. The physiotherapist, known only as Maria, had come out of retirement specifically to work with Oliva.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Her methods were unfamiliar to the family, but within two weeks, Oliva began to notice changes. “Her feet have never moved until we got here. Her legs have never moved until we got here for the last year,” her mother\u00a0shared<\/a>. Oliva also began gaining strength in her upper body, something she had not experienced since the crash.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sturtevant acknowledged the cost and difficulty of traveling abroad for care but said it was worth it. “If she gains anything back, it’s worth every penny because it will impact the rest of her life,” she\u00a0stated<\/a>. Even with small gains, the core challenges of Oliva’s paralysis remain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Her paralysis stems from damage to the C5 and C6 vertebrae in her neck, which severed communication between her brain and most of her body. She cannot feel anything from her chest down, and she has no movement in her fingers. She requires assistance around the clock for everything from bathing to eating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n According to the\u00a0Cleveland Clinic<\/a>, paralysis happens when the nervous system can no longer send signals to the muscles. The damage may result in partial or complete loss of movement. Some people experience flaccid muscles, while others deal with spasticity and involuntary spasms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though treatment varies based on each case, most plans involve physical and occupational therapy, along with devices like wheelchairs, orthotics, or voice-activated tools. These are meant not to reverse the injury, but to support better function and quality of life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In Oliva’s case, any movement, however small, matters. Each signal her body sends shows there is still activity within the nervous system and that recovery, however gradual, hasn’t stopped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Oliva’s progress has been shaped not only by therapy but also by community, much of it online. After sharing updates about her condition on TikTok, she began receiving encouragement from followers who had experienced similar injuries “TikTok has helped so much,” she said<\/a>. “I knew nothing about spinal injuries before, and now I have friends and followers who understand.” That sense of connection became especially important on the days when progress felt slow or pain overshadowed everything else.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fans have responded with words of encouragement.\u00a0“By the grace of God you made it out alive, he will forever be with you. You are such a strong soul, keep pushing,”<\/i>\u00a0one person\u00a0commented<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n