PLANO, Texas — Guillermo Oliva knows he's very lucky to be alive.
The North Texas resident, originally from Cuba, has spent the last three months in the hospital after he was involved in a road rage shooting.
In the early morning hours of March 3, Plano police said there was an "altercation" that occurred between two vehicles. Oliva, who drives for Uber, had just dropped off a passenger off Parker Road before the shooting happened.
"My life changed completely," Oliva said.
"I died three times," he said from his hospital bed at Medical City Plano, which is where he's been for 79 days.
Oliva told WFAA he was in a coma for 18 days.
"He didn't wake up until about three weeks later. He remembers nothing other than waking up the day before," said Plano police detective Jonathan Hay.
It is an incident that police have identified as "road rage." Oliva was shot six times, once in the shoulder, once in the lung and four times in the stomach.
"We don't know the extent of the altercation but it was very brief. At that time the suspect discharged a firearm at the vehicle," said Plano police detective Justin Duffy.
Plano police did make an arrest on March 23. Duffy credited the work of multiple units to identify the driver in the other vehicle who got into the altercation with Oliva.
Police said Plano resident Robert Crolley faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
"That person didn't want to scare anybody. He wanted to kill somebody," said Oliva.
Oliva has at least a month left in the hospital and lots of rehab in his near future.
"The great work of the patrol officers, the great work of the fire department, and the hospital personnel they were able to save him," said Duffy.
Oliva said the unpaid bills are mounting as his hospital stay continues into a fourth month. He supports a child and has a sister and niece who live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Oliva is working to get his parents, who are currently in Cuba, to the states for added support during these difficult times. An online fundraising campaign has been created to help the Oliva family with expenses.
"For everyone who helped me, thank you...the officers, the doctors, I owe them my life. I haven't given up and I won't give up," said Oliva.