Family 'Witnessed a Miracle' After Man Survived Crash With Drunk Driver That Split His Car in 2
Jeff Kudlacik was in a coma for three weeks.
A Kansas man who survived a horrific car crash in 2015 is still thanking the first responders who saved his life.
Jeff Kudlacik was left clinging to life after the March 2015 car crash that left his car split in two. The young man was thrown from the vehicle and was left with broken ribs and legs, as well as a punctured lung.
Looking back, Kudlacik says he is forever grateful to the first responders who arrived at the scene in Overland Park.
“Without these firefighters, I wouldn’t be here,” he told Inside Edition.
The incident occurred on Kudlacik’s 23rd birthday and the impact sent him flying through the windshield of his car and into a sign post.
Kudlacik’s car was split in two. Police and emergency units rushed to the scene.
“One of officers on the truck said, ‘I don't think he's alive,'" firefighter Brett Kampann told Inside Edition.
The young man was clinging to life and his prognosis looked grim. Police thought Kudlacik was going to pass away.
Police went to the Kudlacik’s home to notify his parents, Rick and Kim, what happened. They quickly went to the hospital and saw their only son clinging to life.
“We cannot put that thought in our minds he cannot be dead,” an emotional Rick Kudlacik recalled to Inside Edition. “It didn’t look good. It looked bad.”
Kudlacik was in a coma for three weeks before he regained consciousness.
After her son’s recovery, Kim says “we have witnessed a miracle."
The driver of the car that plowed into Jeff, Michael Smith, was given a field sobriety test. He was arrested on the scene and later pleaded guilty to aggravated battery while driving under the influence.
Smith was sentenced to 31 months behind bars.
The victim and his family now want to change the laws in Kansas to hold bar owners responsible for accidents that involve drunk driving.
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