COEUR d'ALENE - If not for the quick thinking of first responders and massive donations of blood, Victor DeLeon might not have lived to see last Christmas.

Now DeLeon and his family want to try and pay some of that back by hosting a blood drive of their own.

It was just past midnight on Nov. 24, 2013, when DeLeon and his wife, Janell, were traveling home, and their vehicle was struck head-on by an alleged drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 90.

Ashley Daily, of Spokane, reportedly entered the freeway at the eastbound off-ramp at Northwest Boulevard and struck the DeLeons near the Huetter weigh station.

Both Victor DeLeon and Daily were transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center where DeLeon was in critical condition and Daily's condition was serious.

"He was losing blood very quickly and they couldn't keep up with it," his wife said in an interview Tuesday.

That's when DeLeon's son, Devyn, stepped up and started getting everyone he knew to donate blood in his father's name. A family friend called The Press to ask its readers to donate as well.

"The Inland Northwest Blood Center was bombarded with donors," Janell said. "It was very overwhelming. It was just amazing."

Elizabeth Giles, a communications officer for INBC, said it took 165 pints of blood products to stabilize DeLeon, and the average human body only holds 10 to 12 pints of blood.

She said the outpouring of donors was especially helpful last year when it was needed, but from INBC's standpoint it is better to have blood on shelves than to wait until it's needed.

That's why the DeLeon hosted blood drive is important. It will be held on Thursday and Friday at the Coeur d'Alene High School small gymnasium from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"It's really good timing for us," Giles said. "We are in dire need of O-positive and O-negative blood."

O-negative is the blood they use in emergency situations when they don't know what someone's blood type is, so it is important to have that product on the shelves.

"It's always difficult to do a blood drive on the holidays," Giles said, but she is hoping the community will turn out during this time of need.

Janell DeLeon said her son, Devyn, is in the high school DECA program and has taken the lead to promote the blood drive.

"He has really stuck with it," she said. "We are very, very proud of him."

Janell said the family wants to thank all of the people who took the time to donate their blood last year, and to let people know that her husband, Victor, is recovering well.

"He is not at 100 percent, but he is doing much better," she said, adding they have had a tough year of rehabilitation and surgeries to get his leg working again.

"It's a miracle that he lived through this," she said. "He wants to give blood at the blood drive too. We really want to give back now."

Victor still can't feel his leg below the knee, but it is getting better, she said. He wants to be able to walk again without crutches.

"We are just trying to live our everyday life the best we can," Janell said, adding Victor has not been able to work for the past year.

The other driver, Daily, was charged in February with felony aggravated driving under the influence, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

She is scheduled for trial in February of 2015.

Giles said people who want to donate but cannot make the blood drive times can give blood at the Coeur d'Alene office, which is located at 405 W. Neider Ave. on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.