The kid told me about the accident that resulted in the road map of scars on his head. He was 17 at the time it occurred, right smack dab in the middle of the reckless years.
He was a passenger, riding along with a few friends, the driver having recently received his first drivers license and having "borrowed" his older sister's car to take his friends out for a ride.
The driver's situational awareness was undeveloped and he went right through a stop sign - a large truck that was barreling down the road perpendicular to the road that they just blew through broadsided the small Chevy they were in. The kid was not wearing a seatbelt, and when the passenger side door was popped open by the impact he was ejected from the car.
He was sent flying, to more accurately paraphrase him.
He was told later that his body was found over 200 yards from the accident site, battered, bruised, mangled.
The other three passengers survived with lesser injuries. He was in the hospital for six full months plus.
His skull had been broken in numerous places, as were fifteen other bones. The Doctors told him it was an "Evel Knievel" situation, a reference he did not understand until he was able to look the stunt riders career up many months later.
Eventually the doctors put 5 steel plates (held together by 28 small screws) in his skull. Steel pins were also used to help put broken bones in both lower and upper extremities together.
It was three years after he left the hospital when he was finally able to walk comfortably without a cane, though he sometimes still uses one.
The story was told to me after I asked about the Evel Knievel tattoo he had on his right forearm - he said it had a dual purpose, that of covering scars and also reminding him daily of just how fortunate he was to have survived the wreck.
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