Chiles High School senior walks the graduation stage after recovery from crash

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - A senior at Chiles High School was not sure if he would be able to walk across the graduation stage.

Owen Horton was life-flighted after a single-car crash last September and spent weeks in intensive care.

Owen suffered head injuries and broken bones after his car crashed into a tree off North Meridian Road.

After multiple surgeries, he began rehab at an in-patient facility and worked with Tallahassee Memorial Hospital’s outpatient team who helped him improve his speech and ultimately walk again.

“I have great friends, I can tell you that,” Owen said. “My wreck was September 17, and I was out until the next semester January 4th. When I went back to school, everybody was just there welcoming and comforting me like not even just my classmates, but teachers and administrators like they’ve been great to me and my guidance counselors were great to me. Words can’t describe how great they are to me.”

Owen’s doctors, physical therapists and the entire TMH team that worked with him went to his graduation to cheer him.

“All my friends are saying that the crowds are gonna go crazy for me and stuff and it’s a lot of pressure like everybody’s watching me, but I don’t expect much,” Owen said. " As long as my family claps, I’m happy.”

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