Six months after nearly dying in the fatal Ybor City crash, Connor Dietrich returned to St. Joseph’s Hospital to thank the trauma team that helped save his life.
TAMPA, Fla. — Six months after nearly dying in the deadly Ybor City crash, Connor Dietrich returned to St. Joseph’s Hospital to thank the medical team that helped save his life.
Dietrich was critically injured in November after investigators say Silas Sampson, who was allegedly under the influence and fleeing police at high speeds, crashed into a crowd in Ybor City. Four people were killed and several others were injured.
“I remember something that sounded like tire squeaking or something like that,” Dietrich said. “I turned around and I cursed because I saw a car coming, but that’s the only thing I remember. After that, it’s all black.”
Dietrich suffered a traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures and internal bleeding. Doctors at St. Joseph’s Hospital said in the days after the crash, they were unsure if he would survive.
“He had a very severe brain injury and for a few days, we had the discussions that he may not recover, so it was very touch and go,” said Dr. Donald Straub, a trauma surgeon at St. Joseph’s BayCare.
As Dietrich fought for his life, his parents rushed to Tampa from their home about three hours away.
“A long drive not knowing if he was going to make it because if he was going to die, to die alone,” said his mother, Karen Dietrich.
But little by little, Dietrich began to recover. He relearned how to walk and talk, and eventually started remembering pieces of his life again. He said a breakthrough moment came while using a virtual reality device during rehab.
“I don’t know what it was, but that kind of sparked everything for me,” Dietrich said. “I started to remember who I was, what I was doing here, things just started making sense again.”
On Tuesday, Dietrich returned to St. Joseph’s Hospital on Trauma Survivors Day to reunite with the doctors, nurses and therapists who cared for him.
“If it hadn’t been for those people, I don’t think he’d be standing here today,” said his father, Bob Dietrich.
Dietrich said watching old rehab videos showed him how serious his condition really was.
“There’s one video from when I first started walking, and that’s kind of the hardest thing to watch because I didn’t know how bad it was until I saw that,” he said.
Dietrich said he always planned to become a physician assistant, but after meeting the first responders who helped save him, he now plans to become a paramedic first.
For Straub, seeing Dietrich walk back into the hospital was emotional.
“Very remarkable and yeah, it’s rewarding,” Straub said.
Connor still has additional surgeries ahead to address hearing issues and injuries to his shoulder, but his family says the progress he’s made already feels extraordinary.
“I’m emotional, you try not be but I am because I got my son,” Bob Dietrich said.
“It’s almost magical,” Connor Dietrich said. “I didn’t think I’d be doing what I’d be doing.”