Family speaks out after two best friends badly injured in fiery Flagler County crash
FLAGLER COUNTY - A family spoke with FOX 35 after two young men were badly injured in a fiery crash in Flagler County over the weekend.
The clock was ticking for the two teens after they crashed into the back of a semi-truck.
Bodycam video shows deputies prying the door open and cutting the driver out while the car’s engine was on fire.
"Seeing the video was extraordinarily difficult," one of the victim’s uncles told FOX 35.
The family of the driver, Nicholas Redding, says Redding and his best friend Terai Payne were both badly injured.
"I just feel like these boys were put here," said Alisia Redding, Nicholas’s mother. "God has a purpose for them. It’s a miracle that they survived that. They’re very strong. They’re warriors."
Nicholas suffered a traumatic brain injury and Terai was released from the hospital in a wheelchair.
The family says Nicholas and Terai, both 21 years old, are best friends who grew up playing football together.
"Nicholas got a scholarship to West Point," said Nicholas’s uncle, David. "That’s obviously a very prestigious school. And he decided that it would be better for him to stay closer to home and help take care of his four brothers and his family."
After the crash, deputies say they were in the right place at the right time, seeing it before they even heard the call.
"The driver door was actually smashed," said Deputy Steve Pierre with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. "I couldn’t get it. Me and some good Samaritans pried that door open as hard as we could, got that door open. Luckily the driver was wearing his seatbelt."
The family says one of those good Samaritans was one of Nicholas’s four brothers, who was in another car.
"It’s tough on them," David said. "They’re very close-knit, but they’re all strong boys."
The family says both victims will have a long road to recovery.
The families of both Nicholas and Terai are raising money on GoFundMe to help cover medical expenses.