Palm Coast man celebrates second chance at life 1 year after nearly-fatal crash: 'Truly is a blessing'

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - A Palm Coast man and his loved ones have a lot to smile about a year after a nearly-fatal crash. 

"It just truly is a blessing because I didn't think I was going to make it out of that situation that day," Eddie Rivera said.

He and Leo, his now-two-year-old son, along with four others, survived a rollover crash on the Fourth of July last year that could've killed them. It happened as they were heading to Flagler Beach from Palm Coast.

"[Leo's] really a blessing to me, and I don't know what I would do if I lost this little guy," Eddie said.

A Good Samaritan saved Leo from under the wreckage of the Jeep Wrangler, and he only suffered a broken leg. 

But Eddie wasn't as lucky. He flew out of the Jeep the second time it flipped and smashed his head and broke his pelvis. He remained unconscious in the hospital for days after the crash. 

"We all wondered if Eddie was going to go back to Eddie because of the severity of his injuries and the brain injuries and the surgeries and everything," Eddie's mother Anita Rivera said. "But once he woke up and he started being the clown he normally is, we knew it was going to be OK."

Doctors told Eddie's family at the time he likely won't regain his ability to walk for up to two years, but he proved them wrong in just a few months' time. 

"To see me walk into full force, I mean, you know, stand up, here it is. This is what it is," Eddie said, demonstrating how he can stand up now.

Now, they can all laugh about it and rejoice. 

"They are walking miracles," Anita said.

He and his friends met up again this week to celebrate their second chance at life as the anniversary of that frightful day loomed. 

His fiancée got them a cake with an upside-down Jeep Wrangler – which even included the color green to indicate the grass Eddie landed on – and a shirt that reads," If you can read this, flip me over." 

"It really got me shaking just thinking about it, but it was really nice what they did for us," Eddie said.

With his eyes now set on the future, he hopes what happened to him is a lesson for others. 

"Always wear your seatbelt no matter what type of car you're in. Could be the back seat, front row, third row, whatever the case may be. Even a convertible. Wear seatbelts," Eddie said. "It could save your life."