Family Searching for 'Angel' Who Helped Save Man with Broken Spine After Accident

By Amanda Thomason April 28, 2022 at 12:29pm

On the night of April 21, David Hurst from Seminole County, Florida, was in an accident that could have easily claimed his life.

According to Florida Highway Patrol, a reckless driver ran a red light and smashed right into David’s car, sending both vehicles rolling on State Road 434.

“Both cars flipped,” David’s wife Kristin explained to WOFL-TV. “He remembers trying to get out of the, his driver’s window because his car was upside down.”

“My husband landed on the … top of the car,” she added in an interview with WESH. “And he was able to crawl out.”

David was able to make it out of his wrecked car, but as he instinctively tried to stand up, a stranger urged him not to.

The stranger said, “Stay down, stay still. You cannot get up,” Kristin explained.

That advice turned out to be absolutely critical: After being taken to the hospital, David found he had sustained a fractured spine.

“His surgeon later told him, you know, ‘You couldn’t have done any better. If you had gotten up — your back was so unstable, it’s very possible you could have been paralyzed,'” Kristin said, according to WOFL-TV.

David had major surgery at HCA Florida Lake Monroe to place rods in his back, and his spine now sports 30 staples, but he’s alive, and his positive prognosis is thanks to a complete stranger.

“With all good luck, the … surgery went well,” Kristin said, WESH reported. “And it looks like he will regain full mobility, so he is not paralyzed.”

“We obviously owe a great deal of debt to this gentleman — this angel — whomever he may be … I would love to meet him,” she added, according to WOFL-TV.

“Love to just express our appreciation. I know David would love to just see him one more time.”

Kristin has posted on local community groups online in search of their hero, but no dice yet.

“Communities of Winter Springs and Longwood, I have posted in their community groups to try to find this guy,” Kristin told WESH. “So many people have said ‘Well you may not ever find him because he could be an angel.’

“I’ll take that. We’re blessed at this point, that’s all I can say.”

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