Positive Prognosis for Encinitas Woman Injured in Gaslamp Cab Crash

Doctors at UC San Diego Medical Center gave an optimistic prognosis Tuesday for an Encinitas woman who was seriously injured early Saturday morning when a taxi veered off the road and onto the sidewalk outside the Stingaree club in the Gaslamp Quarter.

At a press conference in front of the Hillcrest hospital, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Paul Joseph Girard said 45-year-old Dominique Gambale suffered multiple broken bones and severe tissue damage to her lower right leg.  She was brought to the operating room immediately for limb stabilization, pain control and antibiotics. While Girard considers Gambale’s injury a threat to her limb, he said she did not suffer head, chest or abdominal trauma that might be life threatening.

Early reports after the accident said Gambale’s leg had been amputated, or that the limb was completely severed by the cab and then reattached. Girard confirmed that amputation was an early option for Gambale but that she ultimately chose to try to save her leg.

Gambale returned to the operating room Monday morning, where Girard said doctors removed contaminating materials from the open wound, cut away dead tissue and continued to stabilize the broken pieces of bone.

Gambale will have more surgery later in the week and if the procedures go well, reconstruction of the leg bones can begin. For now, Gambale is able to move her toes and has feeling throughout most of the limb. 

Girard said he hopes to have Gambale bearing weight on the leg and learning how to walk again in six months, but warned that she will not be out of the woods for quite some time.

“Most people take at least two years to recover from a trauma like this,” he said.

Despite the long road ahead, Girard said Gambale has a positive outlook.

“She’s actually in pretty good spirits for something like this,” he said.  “She’s optimistic but realistic about what lies ahead and that, really, the outcome is not certain at this point.”

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Gambale issued a statement Monday night thanking the hospital staff and asking for privacy.

“I know that I am in good hands here at UC San Diego Medical Center,” she said. “My care has been exceptional, and I have been amazed at the level of skill and comprehensive efforts provided by the trauma and orthopedic surgery team. I only ask everyone to respect my privacy, and that of my family, as I take time to heal.”

Gambale, a mother of two, had been at Stingaree with her husband, James Gambale Jr., when the cab struck her, pinning her limb to the wall.

Police have identified the driver as 52-year-old Sam Hassan Daly of Emerald Cab and are still investigating what may have caused him to drive into the crowd.

Around 1:50 a.m. Saturday, Daly veered off the road and into a group of people exiting the club at 454 Sixth Ave., according to a police press release. While Gambale’s injury was the most severe, 33 other pedestrians, most suffering abrasions, concussions and broken bones, were also hurt. Some may have been injured during a confrontation following the crash, during which people from the street fought with the cab driver.

Daly had begun backing up his cab just after the crash, prompting people to grab him and drag him out of the cab, thinking he was trying to flee.

"People were rather upset, kicking and punching," witness Joshua Montana, 31, said. "He was saying, 'Oh my God, oh my God' when trying to pull the car away."

Daly suffered a broken nose, but police have not yet determined whether his injury came from the crash or the confrontation, Lt. Rick O'Hanlon said during a phone interview. No one has been cited yet in connection with the incident, which is still under investigation, O'Hanlon said.

Daly told police he blacked out just before the crash. He was traveling 15 mph and there was no immediate indication that alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash, police said.

The victims are from all over the county, and all have been released from the hospital except for Gambale, O'Hanlon said.

City News Service contributed to this report.