(Berea) Myles Garrett knows he’s lucky. His life could be very different, even over.
Posted at 4:07 p.m.
Speaking for the first time since losing control behind the wheel of his Porsche after returning from a team practice on Monday, the Cleveland Browns’ star defensive end expressed his relief at surviving the accident he caused by driving too fast.
“There’s no doubt that I’m grateful to be here,” Garrett said Friday.
Garrett suffered shoulder and bicep injuries, cuts and a ruptured blood vessel in his left eye in the accident on a rural road near his home.
He promised that this incident will encourage him to change his behavior.
“It’s definitely going to be a wake-up call for me, just trying to be smart in general behind the wheel,” Garrett said in the locker room after the Browns practice. “Take nothing for granted. To be grateful that I’m still able to be here and to take my time. »
Despite his injuries and the fact that he hasn’t practiced for three days, the Browns said Garrett is a questionable case for Sunday’s game in Atlanta.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Garrett’s status will be determined based on an assessment by doctors. For his part, Garrett said he is doing much better and he has not ruled out the possibility that he will participate in the duel against the Falcons.
“It belongs to the healers and the instructors,” he noted.
“If it were up to me, I would like to be able to play. It’s just my competitive spirit and my nature. On the physical level, it will be necessary to evaluate everything today, tomorrow and Sunday. But this is a decision we will make closer to the start time of the game. »
Ohio State Highway Patrol officials say the 26-year-old footballer was traveling at an “unsafe speed” when he veered off the road, into a ditch and hit a fire hydrant before doing several barrel rolls.
A 23-year-old woman who accompanied Garrett in the vehicle also suffered minor injuries. She was treated in hospital before being discharged.
“I let out a big sigh of relief because I was the one who put us in danger,” he confessed.
Garrett told officers he believed he was traveling at 104 km/h (65 mph) in an area where the maximum speed limit is 72 km/h (45 mph) before he lost control of his vehicle on a hilly road.
Highway Patrol said in their accident report that they did not suspect the presence of drugs or alcohol.
The crash destroyed Garrett’s car and rattled several of his teammates.
“I think emotionally I have both feet on the ground and I’ve put all of this behind me,” Garrett said.
“Physically, I still have to deal with some of the injuries that resulted (from the accident), but in reality, it’s really unclear. It all happened pretty quickly.
“Sometimes the last two nights I’ve sat down and thought about some of the different situations, some scenarios, how it went. But knowing that I can’t change the past, I just have to keep moving forward and be happy that everyone is okay. »
The first player selected in the 2017 draft, Garrett has a history of speeding. Last year, he received tickets on consecutive days for driving at 120 mph (192 km/h). In one instance, he paid a ticket in which the speed was changed to 99 mph (158 km/h) in a 70 mph (112 km/h) zone.
Garrett said the accident will change the way he drives.
“I don’t think it takes anything as drastic as that to tell me I need to slow down,” he said. It’s about listening to my loved ones, hearing them and understanding that it’s serious every time you get in the car. »