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Confined to a hospital bed, Jospeh Furtek is grateful he’s alive after a freak accident in the San Bernardino County mountains.
“I’m very, very blessed to be alive,” he said. “I don’t remember any of this, but two large boulders vell on my vehicle.”
From his room at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Furtek recounted his story of survival after his van was crushed by a pair of boulders on Highway 18 near Crestline. Furtek said he was going to live in the van while moving to the Central Coast.
“They had been doing rock excavation on that highway for the last two months,” Furtek said.
With an open road, Furtek said he didn’t think about it until the crash. He’s glad he doesn’t remember anything from the incident.
“Nothing, I don’t remember anything two days before,” he said. “I don’t remember coming up here. I don’t remember seeing my friends.”
Since the accident on Oct. 18, Furtek has been able to remember some elements, like two good Samaritans behind him stopping and calling for help. They also held his hand until rescuers arrived, who spent hours trying to save him.
“I had compound fractures all the way down my right leg in fact they were going to amputate my leg at the scene because I was losing so much blood from this leg,” he said. “There were so many compound fractures.”
Doctors were able to save his leg but he’s still physically and financially stuck. His sister started an online fundraiser for him.
“Frustrated that I find myself in bed and I’m not able to live my dream right now,” he said.
However, he knows his dream can wait as he learns how to walk again.
“It’s gonna take a long time for me to establish usage of my right leg,” Furtek said. “I’m grateful. I’m grateful I’m still alive and it gives you perspective.”
It may take Furtek around four months to recover.