PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — Erika Brigman can walk once again without a crutch or assistance after enduring a head-on collision with a drunk driver in July 2023.

Brigman has spent a year recovering with her family in North Carolina before spending the last year back in Pensacola to finish recovering.

Brigman broke her left foot talus, left leg tibia, both kneecaps, a broken right arm and punctured lung. However, the major damage was done to Brigman’s back as the seat belt broke her back.

“Instead of sitting on your hips, like it shifted off, and it internally slashed me in half and broke my back,” Brigman recalled.

“If you would have told me while I was sitting in that hospital bed that I would have loved my life a year and a half from now, I wouldn’t have believed you,” she added.

Erika Brigman in recovery from her injuries. (Courtesy of Erika Brigman)

In July 2023, Brigman and her friend, Annah Lewis, were on their way to lunch along Pine Forest Road. Having taken separate cars, Lewis was ahead of Brigman and turned into safely the parking lot first.

When Brigman went to turn into the parking lot, she was struck by another vehicle.  

Lewis stayed by her friend’s side as she was rushed to Sacred Heart Hospital. She remembered one of Brigman’s doctors telling her something she’d never forget.

“I’ve never seen anything like this one, like the whole internal cut from side to side all the way around, and he’s never seen anyone survive it,” said Lewis. “And that really hit me, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she could have really died right there on the road that day.”

Sacred Heart Emergency Services Director Christie Jandora said it’s rare for medical professionals to witness the long-term recovery of former patients.

“We treat them in the ER now,” Jandora said. “We might see them a little bit through the rehab process, but then, two years down the road, unless we bump into them in the grocery store, or somewhere, you really don’t always know how great they are doing.”