Man pulled from burning car on road to recovery
AP Photo UTLHJ101, UTLHJ102, UTLHJ103, UTLHJ104
%reldate(2011-11-16T23:02:00 Eds: An AP Member Exchange. With AP Photos.
By SATENIK SARGSYAN
The Herald Journal
LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- Brandon Wright is slowly taking his first steps after the entire globe saw the Logan-area student rescued from underneath a burning car by about a dozen strangers in September.
Overwhelmed by frequent calls from media organizations across the nation, Wright is now recovering in his parent's home in rural Cache Valley -- taking a few steps at a time with a walker and trying to set up a nonprofit organization to help others both internationally and in the United States.
"It's weird. I didn't do anything. I just got into an accident," Wright said about his recent spotlight in the media.
After sliding under a BMW with his motorcycle about two months ago, Wright has a fractured femur, tibia and fibula, another fracture in his right wrist and a burned foot. Still in a wheelchair, Wright is now making his first attempts with the walker -- hoping to move around on his own soon.
Wright took a leave of absence from Utah State University, but the graphic design major is planning to return to school next semester.
Doug Stromberg, his doctor at Logan Regional Hospital, said Wright may be able to return to his regular daily activity in as soon as a month.
"He is doing very well for having those extensive injuries. A part of it is his age," Stromberg said. "He is currently doing a lot of strengthening and resistance exercises. We are mainly working on ambulation."
And although Wright is grateful to his family -- especially to his mom, grandmother and girlfriend -- the USU sophomore is looking forward to walking and gaining his independence back.
He already has another motorcycle -- an old bike gifted by a stranger from West Jordan. Wright also received parts from various motorcycle companies and hopes to start building his new means of transportation as soon as health permits.
"It's amazing to see that people are so generous," he said.
Meanwhile, Wright is trying to put together a charity organization, called WHEN (Water, Housing, Education and Nutrition) to help the poor here and in Tijuana, Mexico -- where he volunteered last year with Charity Anywhere.
He is now looking for ways to fund a lawyer who would set up the nonprofit organization, and hopes to garner support to make the project feasible.
"The poor in America have it so much better than the poor anywhere else," Wright said.
Despite appearing in the pages of People magazine and on Anderson Cooper's television show with his rescuers, Wright enjoys not being recognized in the valley. When asked about his injuries, he'll tell people they may have seen him on YouTube.
So far, Wright has met nine of his rescuers, but he is still looking for the rest and hopes they "come out of the woodwork."
But even now -- nearly two months after the accident -- he doesn't know just what he could say or do for people who risked their lives for a perfect stranger one day in September.
"What do you say to people who saved your life? Nice to meet you? Thank you? Can I buy you a beer?" Wright said. "It's a feeling that hasn't been named yet."
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Information from: The Herald Journal, http://www.hjnews.com
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