Dylan Roughton said he is thankful he’s alive after he was seriously hurt in a wrong-way crash in Clay County in January.
Roughton suffered broken bones in his leg, ankle and pelvis and had a brain injury after he was hit by a driver who was under the influence.
“I was shocked. There was a lot going through my head because I didn’t understand anything had happened," Roughton said. "I didn’t know I was in a car wreck."
“They told me I’m going to re-learn how to walk,” he said.
First responders from Clay and Duval counties cut him from his car and rushed him to the hospital.
Roughton got the chance to meet the first responders who rescued him during a reunion at Orange Park Medical Center's Inpatient Rehab Center on Monday.
“You guys literally saved my life," Roughton told them. "I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that."
Roughton's mom hugged every one of the first responders.
“(His car) was crushed and, to be honest, when we walked up, I didn’t know if he was alive or not,” Captain David Teetsell with Clay County Fire Rescue said.
First responders also collected money for Roughton and his family in a boot drive and gave it to him at the hospital
He has about six months to a year of recovery ahead.
Roughton said he gets his stitches and staples removed on Thursday and will be able to go home to his fiancée and 2-month-old son.