OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) – A college student in Oklahoma said he is grateful to be alive after a loose tire crashed into his windshield on the highway, landing him in the hospital for days.
Colby Ferbrache said the road to recover has been long and painful, but he’s hoping for a full recovery.
The Oklahoma University junior said his life flashed before his eyes when the loose tire hit his windshield while he was driving on the highway on his way to work after class.
“It was just super, super, just like, just the impact, which was so scary,” he said.
Ferbrache said the impact totaled his car, breaking three vertebras in his neck, three of his teeth and giving him a concussion.
“I honestly don’t remember anything except waking up in the ambulance,” he said.
Ferbrache said he had to get surgery on his neck and spend nearly a week in the hospital.
“Any of the pictures anyone looks at, their words are always like, ‘Oh, wow. I’m surprised he survived,’” Ferbrache said.
Fortunately, Ferbrache said he is starting to see some progress in his recovery.
“I’m able to move around more, able to be in less pain. But the days I was in the hospital were just super, super rough,” he said.
Ferbrache is also an Ironman athlete, spending much of his freetime training with hopes of going pro in the future. However, because of the accident, his training has come to a halt.
“It’s putting a toll. I can’t bike, run or swim currently, right now, so it … took a pause on my training as I was about to do a world championship event in New Zealand, so I can’t do that anymore,” Ferbrache said. “I can’t bike or run. I will eventually, blessed to be alive still.”
The athlete is also unable to drive currently, leaving him out of school and work.
“I’m honestly just eager to start, you know, going to school and working again, and it’s something I can’t control, so I just got to get back out there and keep living my life,” he said.
Ferbrache’s friends have set up a GoFundMe to help him get back on his feet.
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