ABINGDON, Va. – The man airlifted to Bristol Regional Medical Center on Monday after a serious wreck on Interstate 81 walked out of the hospital seven hours later.
“I’m just really sore, and I’ve got 14 stitches in my chin,” said Brian Hayes, who described his injuries as “minor cuts and bruises.”
“From the look of the vehicle, I should’ve been dead,” said Hayes, 19, of Whitetop, Va. “I guess God was riding with me [Monday].”
Hayes said he had just merged onto the interstate at Exit 19 when he ran into the back of a tractor-trailer that braked suddenly for another car. Witnesses on and near the interstate said the crash looked fatal.
Hayes not only survived, he went home Monday evening and says he will start classes on schedule in the paramedic program at Virginia Highlands Community College.
“I thank all the emergency workers who came and helped extricate me from the vehicle, and I thank MedFlight for their help in transporting me to the hospital,” he said.
A volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician himself, Hayes is also engaged to be married, with a date set in April.
“Apparently, God has a purpose for his life. He’s just meant to be here,” said his fiancée, Ashlee Jackson, of Konnarock.
“I think it’s made me realize that we just have to focus on the family more and just slow down and take account of what our priorities are,” she continued.
“It’s a miracle that he’s still here, and I’m beyond grateful.”
dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701
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