HOUSTON, Texas (KHOU) - A college student in Texas says he is lucky to be alive after he drove off a cliff while texting.
Chance Bothe, a 21-year-old college student, was headed home when he texted a prophetic message: I need to quit texting because I could die in a car accident.
Seconds later, Bothe plunged off a bridge, then a cliff and ended up in a deep ravine.
Bothe's father said his son suffered a broken neck, a crushed face, a fractured skull and traumatic brain injuries.
"I said, 'Call the funeral home. He'll never make it,'" said Bobby Bothe, Chance's father. "We lost him three times. They brought him back. He coded three times."
Six months later, Bothe has recovered about 80 percent. He talked with KHOU-TV's Kevin Reece on his last day of rehab. That's where he learned to talk and walk again.
"Yeah, I was text messaging on the phone, flew right off the road," said Bothe. "I'm very lucky that I'm not gone forever. That I still have things to do on this world."
And the college student has a message for anyone who texts and drives.
"They just need to understand, don't do it," he said" It's not worth losing your life. I went to my grandmother's funeral not long ago and I kept thinking… I'm surprised that's not me up in that casket. I came very close to that to being gone forever."
Bothe's father said he believes teens, especially those just starting to drive, should have their phones' texting features disabled as a precaution.
