Teen Finds Guardian Angel After Devastating Oklahoma Crash

When Brianna Austin woke from her coma, she remembered everything about the crash that nearly killed her, including the red-haired stranger who promised she wouldn't die.

The 13-year-old from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was riding with her father on December 28 when he had a sudden medical emergency and lost consciousness behind the wheel. The car swerved into oncoming traffic, hit a manhole cover, went airborne, and slammed into an oak tree at 50 mph.

Brianna remembers screaming "I don't want to die" before impact. Then, through her pain and fear, she saw him.

"They say when you die, you see Jesus," she told her mother Jennifer Hughell. "They lied to you because you don't see Jesus. I saw Ron Weasley."

The red-haired man opened her car door, told her she'd be okay, and pulled her to safety before she lost consciousness. A witness named Carrie, who called 911 and stayed at the scene, confirmed seeing the good Samaritan pull Brianna from the wreckage.

When Brianna arrived at Saint Francis Hospital, her heart stopped. Doctors manually pumped her heart for 11 minutes to bring her back.

She's undergone 20 surgeries in just over a month to repair her liver, spleen, broken back, and broken legs. Doctors removed parts of her colon and intestines to save her life. They initially thought they'd need to amputate her arm, but now she has movement back in her hand.

Today, Brianna is walking 400 feet across her hospital floor and cracking jokes with her doctors. She celebrated her 13th birthday in the hospital, alive because a stranger chose to stop.

Sunny's Take

Sometimes hope shows up exactly when you need it most, even if it looks like a Harry Potter character. This stranger didn't have to stop, but those few seconds of compassion gave a family their daughter back and gave Brianna a fighting chance. Her mother puts it perfectly: "In those kinds of situations, seconds and minutes matter."

Brianna still faces a long recovery, including physical therapy and PTSD treatment at Bethany Children's Hospital. She's already needed 42 bags of blood and will need more for upcoming surgeries. Blood donations can be made at any Oklahoma Blood Institute location and credited to patient Brianna Austin.

The family hopes their guardian angel will come forward so they can properly thank the person who gave them everything. Until then, Brianna's fighting spirit keeps pushing her forward, one joke and one step at a time.

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