'He's not a quitter': Camden County family celebrates son's graduation after horrific car crash

CLEMENTON, N.J. - A New Jersey family is counting their blessings after the youngest of their three children almost didn’t survive a horrific car accident. He was in a coma and, for a while, it was day-to-day.

"Of all the days that there could be, this is probably one of the best days ever," Donna Lewis said. "I was very emotional."

Andrew Lewis’s parents say his graduation from Shawnee High School in June was anything but guaranteed. Six months earlier, the teen was in a terrible car crash that left him unconscious with a traumatic brain injury.

"About 90 percent of people that have that injury don’t wake up, ever. Other people who do wake up, most of them have long-term, ongoing issues," dad Ryk Lewis said.

Andrew was driving along College Drive, not too far from his home in Clementon, in Camden County, around 4 in the afternoon, on New Year’s Eve. His car hydroplaned on wet road, spinning into oncoming traffic, before being hit by another car.

"I don’t remember any of it," Andrew Lewis said.

Dad Ryk added, "Saw him a few hours before, now he’s lying in a hospital bed and will he wake up? That was pretty tough."

After eight long days in Cooper University Hospital’s Trauma Unit, Andrew finally opened his eyes.

"Once he did wake up, he had a four-word vocabulary for the first four days," Ryk stated.

But, Andrew is not one to take anything lying down. "Just sitting there and not doing anything. I never considered that as an option."

"He’s not a quitter," mom Donna Lewis said. "He doesn’t give up, so I think that really benefited him, in the long run."

The 18-year-old persevered for weeks following the accident, exceeding doctors expectations in the hospital and at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.

"I think just waiting and being patient and giving it time – that was the hardest part," Andrew explained.

"I think he is the only person in the history of their rehab who was able to run before he actually left," Ryk stated.

Andrew loves to play the drums and, while he’s struggled a bit getting back to where he wants to be, he performed a solo at his high school’s spring concert.

"A lot of things I like to do have always come naturally and so this forced me to work harder and to be good at those things," Andrew remarked. "I think it just showed me a new perspective."

Andrew plans to take a gap year, practicing drumming and then wants to attend the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, in the fall of 2024. He wants to be a professional musician and to teach. His family says he’s already a rock star in their eyes, especially considering what he’s been through.