The family of a man, who was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on Highway 167, is grateful he’s alive and recovering.
Miles Leighton has been at Harborview Medical Center for more than two weeks after his car was hit by a driver going south in the northbound lanes on Jan. 12.
Both cars burst into flames on impact.
The family has a GoFundMe to help with Miles’s medical expenses.
“My first thought after hearing my dad say that was that ‘everything was fine’ and then just immediately thinking that the worst happened,” said Kevin Leighton.
Kevin is the younger brother of Miles. He told KIRO 7 he didn’t find out what had happened until after Miles did not show up to work.
He says he was grateful to find out that Miles had been pulled out of the fiery wreck by a state trooper and two others.
“I really can’t thank those two, or those three people enough. If it wasn’t for them, he could’ve been in a lot… he might not be here,” Kevin said.
Miles has been in the hospital after suffering broken femurs, arms, nose, wrist, hip, and spine.
But Kevin says his brother is a fighter.
“He’s always joked around that it’s gonna take, take a lot to take him down. And he was, he was right. And I’m really, really glad that he was right,” he said.
Miles is a husband and a father of two.
" I’m just really proud that he was able to make it because, you know, he’s got two kids and his kids love him to death and, you know, I love him too.”
Kevin describes him as a big guy with a big heart who he will always treat as his big brother.
“To me, whenever I’m talking to him, he’s my brother. He’s, sometimes I want to tell him to shut up,” he laughed.
But this time, Kevin says this wasn’t the case.
“He’s in the hospital and he can’t talk. So that’s, I think that’s probably the hardest part is… you kind of start to start to miss hearing him talk,” he said.
Kevin says his brother has made promising progress since his first hospital two weeks ago. And now, even just a nod and smirk is the best sign Kevin could ask for.
“The first time was just kind of tears of sadness, but the second time was, I wouldn’t say necessarily tears of joy, but tears of relief,” he said.
The driver of the wrong-way vehicle was identified as 22-year-old Jose F. Zacarias Sebastian of Tacoma. He was injured and transported to Harborview Medical Center on Jan. 12.
He is facing charges of vehicular assault.
Kevin says the family’s focus is on Miles’s recovery and hopes everyone stays safe on the roads.
“I know that in the moment it’s hard to make those kinds of decisions, but just drive safe it’s really hard on everybody,” he said.