Los Angeles teacher living in Ukraine with family chronicle's family's evacuation to safety
In a matter of hours, a Los Angeles man went from teaching abroad to fleeing a war zone with his family.
"I would say we're gonna come back, but I dunno if we're gonna come back," Juan Tec said. "Just had so many things, we were starting a life here, a home, but now we're running."
The 32-year-old Tec shared his journey with ABC News as he and his family escape from Kyiv while Russian forces invade Ukraine.
At first light on Thursday morning, he, his wife and their 2-year-old child picked up Tec's elderly grandmother-in-law before hitting the road as they drove toward Poland.
Just days ago, Tec said he planned to stay in Ukraine, but the explosions hitting the capital changed his mind.
"We figured it's probably better to leave than stay in Kyiv, just in case they do come here," Tec said in a video diary. "As American citizens, we'd be safer outside Russian occupied Kyiv, if it does happen."
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They've been keeping ABC's "Nightline" posted on their every move, sending iPhone videos, stills and video diaries describing the scenes from the invasion of, and evacuation from Ukraine.
Through his video diaries, he's highlighting the raw events evacuees have seen on their journey.
"There was an explosion right over there," Tec said in one video diary. "Stuck in traffic, all the birds just flew off. I don't know if it was a plane shot down or what, woah, that was intense."
Tec packed up whatever could fit in their car, and as they flee, he tries to keep his gas tank filled, pulling over when his toddler needs to use the little green training potty that they had to bring along.
"We stopped to get gas even though we have like 300 kilometers to go," Tec said. "Better safe than sorry."
Tec and his family reached the Polish border on Friday. He does not know if he will ever return.
"Just really upset with this whole situation," Tec said. "We had a home here and they come and destroy it. They're trying to destroy it. But the Ukrainians are brave and they're standing up and they're fighting back and - we saw some of the military men heading off the opposite side and I just felt a little bit bad. You know, they're fighting. I think most of us should fight, honestly. They're gonna give it their best to protect their land and their country."
