BOCA RATON, Fla. (WSVN) — A 22-year-old man who was hit with a piece of road debris is speaking out about his injuries.
Twenty-two-year-old Holden Amory was driving south, down Interstate 95, in Boca Raton, near Palmetto Park Road, when a piece of metal crashed through his windshield and struck him in the face, April 29. "I got hit in the face. I don’t really remember anything," the victim told reporters at a news conference, Monday afternoon.
Witnesses said a tractor trailer lost part of its brake drum, and the victim was unable to swerve out of the way as it flew into his vehicle.
Amory said he lost consciousness during the crash, but good Samaritans who stopped to help him said there was blood everywhere. "When I got closer to Holden’s car, I noticed his head was back and blood was coming out of his face," said Tarnesha Barton, who immediately called 911.
Barton said, when he regained consciousness, Amory did not panic. "I’m surprised he stayed calm throughout the whole process, the whole process, the whole ordeal," she said. "You could basically see inside Holden’s face, and it was just like part of it was like a cup of blood just sitting there and waiting to pour out."
Amory is now recovering from his injuries and gave a detailed description of his injuries. "I’m gonna have to get some metal plates in my face," he said. "I know, like, my jaw was broken, I think, maybe on both sides. My eye socket was damaged, my cheekbone was like completely chipped off, almost, and off to the side. Yeah, so nothing too fun."
Amory said he has so many stitches in his face that he has lost count. However, he said he’s happy he survived the ordeal. "I could totally see that it’s nothing short of a miracle that it wasn’t any worse than it could have been," he said. "If this beautiful piece of metal right here had hit me an inch higher, I would have lost my vision. I could have been brain dead."
7News cameras captured Amory as he held up that hunk of metal over his head. It is one inch thick and weighs about 30 pounds.
Amory, an aspiring musician, was transporting equipment at the time of the accident. He was treated at Delray Medical Center.
Even though he has some paralysis on his face, Amory is expected to be OK. "I think I look pretty good still," he said.
He is expected to undergo a 10 to 12-hour reconstructive surgery on Tuesday.
Amory’s mother expressed relief that her son survived the crash. "I was just so thankful that his life was spared," said Emily Findlay.
"I’m feeling pretty blessed to be here, to say the least," said Amory.
As for his music career, Amory said, the accident will definitely have an impact on his performing style. "If anything, I’ll get, like, a new tone, I guess," he said. "Like my voice will have some of those metal undertones or something, you know?"
Amory’s attorneys are hoping somebody witnessed the accident and will come forward with information. They said they have a partial plate number on the tractor trailer and are currently following some leads.