Has no broken bones and grateful to be alive
Read more: Local, State, Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- A joy ride gone wrong left one teenager 75 feet down an embankment unconscious and trapped underneath his car for about eight hours. The accident happened just after midnight Monday about 14 miles up the dirt portion of Old Stage Road, west of Colorado Springs.
Tuesday night, that 19-year-old, Caleb Stoller, is recovering at Penrose Hospital.
Stoller lost a lot of muscle in his legs from a lack of circulation while he was trapped under the car, but shockingly, Stoller has no broken bones. He remains hospitalized Tuesday while the swelling in his legs goes down.
When Stoller got to the hospital Monday, doctors expected him to have several broken bones in his legs. The fact that he had none was so unbelievable, Stoller tells me doctors put him through repeat CT scans and X-rays.
It's a miracle Stoller didn't anticipate while stuck under his car overnight.
Stoller and his two friends, Troy and Dylan, only planned to catch a view of Colorado Springs when they took off Sunday night.
"It was a beautiful night, and you can see the whole city from up there," says Stoller.
Then, they ran out of gas.
"Lost the power steering and power brakes when the motor shut off, and so my tracks went through a couple of bushes, and I guess, hit a boulder," says Stoller. "After we had already stopped it just started flipping sideways."
The fall left Stoller trapped between his car, a tree, and a boulder.
"When I woke up there was nobody there, no one around," says Stoller. "I didn't know if they might still be in the vehicle and unconscious or where they could be at."
His friends had actually began the 10-mile hike back to town for help. While they searched for help, Stoller relentlessly did the same.
"I was just yelling for help and trying to stay conscious," says Stoller. "Then I'd pass out, wake up and start yelling for help again."
It wasn't until early the next morning that a Colorado Springs police officer found Stoller 14 miles up this road crying for help.
"I'd like to thank all of the people involved in making sure I was all right," says Stoller. "So, out of a vehicle, out of a job, but still alive."
Stoller's car was completely totaled. He says he has no insurance to pay for the accident, but if he can survive the accident itself, he's not worried about figuring out the rest.
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