KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knoxville woman is recovering after she and her fiancé were injured in a freak traffic incident in Alabama.
Austin Bowman and Malia Duarte became engaged in April. Instead of planning for their wedding, they're now waiting in Alabama while Bowman recovers in a hospital. They were traveling to the state on Friday to celebrate Duarte's father's birthday. That morning, she said Bowman had also bought a new pickup truck.
"He was so excited about this truck. We got a 2024 Toyota Tacoma," said Duarte.
Later that day, she said they headed to Alabama. When they were less than an hour away, Duarte said she saw something black flying toward their windshield.
"It's like a meteorite coming at us on the hood and it was right before it made impact. Like, I saw something right there and then it made an impact. And I just remember as soon as it made impact, I turned into Austin and I couldn't see his face at that point because everything was on him and he wasn't responsive," said Duarte.
It turned out to be a tire.
"I'm holding our dog and I immediately just grab my phone dial 911 and I'm screaming for help," said Duarte.
She said the truck was in cruise control and it went off the road into the grass. Once it came to a stop, she parked the car. She said a person came from across the highway in a white minivan to help.
"I still don't know his name, but I really knew that God sent him. He came so quickly and got there. As soon as I picked up, I handed him the phone because I didn't know what to tell them, where I was or anything. And they now, we know based off the police report. know that they were there within 10 minutes of the 911 call and got Austin out of there," said Duarte.
Duarte said she only had road rash on her face and an injury on her neck that didn't require stitches. But since Austin was driving, he was hit with the most force and doctors are keeping him sedated.
"He's suffering from the traumatic brain injury," she said. "He has multiple bones in his face that are broken and they're worried about his eyes as well. These are all things that we just are waiting on, until he is not in pain — to be able to wake up and examine and just work on moving forward with surgery and things."
She said her father owns a mobile tire company and they pride themselves on tire safety. She said safety could have prevented this from happening. Duarte said she thinks the tire came off a trailer. At this time, no one has come forward to the police.
"It's probably one of the biggest things that you should put your money towards. Make sure you're having the right installation, purchasing the right tires, and checking your equipment before you hit the road. Our hope is that if this can help just one person find a tire with a tire installer, taking more time — an owner of a trailer or just their own vehicle as well — just taking that extra time, spending that extra money to save lives. This should not happen to anyone," said Duarte.
A family friend started a GoFundMe campaign to help support Duarte and Bowman. She said it will be used to help pay for Bowman's surgeries, and for Duarte to be able to have a place to stay in Alabama while she's waiting for Bowman to get out of the hospital.
"I'm not going home without him. We're gonna be here for as long as it takes. He's in a really good place," said Duarte.