LOGAN, Utah — The family of two brothers airlifted after a crash on their way to school Monday in Logan are facing difficult challenges ahead.
Kirubel, 18, and Surafel Mesfin, 14, were driving to Logan High School around 7:45 a.m. when they were hit by a water truck at 1000 West. The truck hit the drivers side where Kirubel was sitting, forcing crews to use heavy machinery to extricate him from the car.
“The doctor’s exact words are, ‘It’s a miracle,’” said Jonathan Abebe, Kirubel and Surafel’s cousin.
The brothers were transported to different hospitals following the accident.
According to the family, Kirubel underwent multiple surgeries on his brain and heart, and suffered broken arms, wrists, hip and spine. Surafel's injuries were not listed, but he is in stable condition.
Abebe said the high school senior is responsive and can maintain eye contact and nod his head.
“He took a majority of the impact because the hit was on the driver’s side,” said Abebe. “It’s a miracle he came out of that car alive.”
Abebe said Surfal suffered injuries to his back, hips and neck. He has not needed any surgery as of now.
Both teens attended Logan High School where Kirubel was a senior with hopes of attending college, while Surafel is a sophomore and is involved in student government.
The crash comes just after the boys’ father spent years fighting a severe and rare form of oral cancer.
“They’re finally coming out of that burden and things were finally normalizing and now this happened,” said Abebe.
A GoFundMe page set up by the boys' uncle said their father recently overcame a severe cancer diagnosis.
"We believe it’s a miracle that the two have survived and know that what the family needs most is our community coming together to show them our love and support. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers," the family said.
In just a day, the page already raised over $42,000 dollars, but for the cost of two Life Flights, emergency surgeries and eventual rehab for both teens, Abebe said the path to recovery will be a costly one.
“I mean, I don’t even have any words to explain what [the GoFundMe donations] will be able to do,” he said. “The road ahead of them is still to be determined, and it’s a long way to go, but at least it feels they’re out of the danger zone for the time being.”
