FLOYD, Va. – On December 16, 2023, while Micah Underwood was taking Lauren Worley home after a night of shopping, they were hit head-on by a drunk driver.
“I remember Jason [Micah’s dad] telling me that Micah and Lauren were in a really bad car accident and my whole body started just violently shaking,” said Cheryl Underwood, Micah’s mom. “I was shaking. I could not stop.”
Micah and Lauren suffered extreme injuries from the accident and were flown to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
“I don’t ever want to relive that night at all,” said Jason Underwood.
At the hospital, they learned the extent of Micah’s injuries
“Right femur, it was a clean break,” said Micah. “I broke my wrist.”
Then it was time for the road to recovery for Micah.
I talked to him about the past year and he said it’s had its ups and downs.
“It’s hard to ask really how I feel when I have felt so much this year,” Micah said.
Talking about the accident, he said it’s still hard to relive what happened.
“I don’t even think about it,” said Micah. “It makes me, and the way I feel when I do think about it, not want to think about it if that makes sense. It takes things like these interviews and just like actually talking about it for me to actually remember it.”
But he hasn’t let it stop him from taking it one day at a time.
Since the crash, Micah helped his school win a state title in golf, and is back on the basketball court.
He said though he has recovered from his physical injuries, there is still lots of healing to do from the accident.
“I need to kind of overcome that, you know, and it’ll take time and I think it’ll take a lot of me taking it upon myself and not having like people do it for me,” said Micah
For Micah’s parents, they said this year has been hard, but they are proud of how strong their son is.
“To be able to fight through it, and to have the mindset that he has, it’s incredible,” said Cheryl.
Micah said that he will continue to lean on his faith to take him where he needs to be.
“I think what’s so cool is that my faith has remained,” Micah said.