A Texas high school coach is continuing to fight through a terrifying brain injury after he was accidentally struck in the head by a shot put during a track meet in what his family is calling a devastating “freak accident.”
Blake Crutsinger, an assistant football and track coach at Ponder High School, suffered a skull fracture and brain swelling after being hit by the approximately 12-pound metal shot put during a regional competition on Saturday, May 2.
The frightening accident happened around 2 p.m. during the Region II-3A University Interscholastic League track meet at Whitehouse High School near Tyler.
According to updates shared by his wife, Leslie Crutsinger, Blake remains hospitalized but is showing encouraging signs of progress several days after the accident.
In a Facebook update shared Wednesday, Leslie revealed doctors had completed an EEG test that brought some much-needed good news.
“The EEG only shows general slowing which is normal for a head injury, but doesn’t show seizure activity,” she wrote. “Great news!”
She also said swelling in Blake’s face and left eye had gone down significantly.
Doctors were reportedly preparing to perform an MRI as long as the swelling continued improving.
Medical staff also hoped to begin slowly waking Blake up with the eventual goal of removing the breathing tube keeping him stabilized.
The shocking accident deeply rattled the Ponder community, with students, parents, and fellow coaches rallying around the beloved educator and father of two.
The school district publicly asked the community to keep Coach Crutsinger and his family in their prayers following the horrifying incident.
Leslie also urged people not to blame the student athlete involved in the accident, saying the young man has been struggling emotionally since the terrifying moment unfolded.
“Please pray for the young man from the other school who is taking this accident very hard,” she wrote in an earlier update.
While details about exactly how the shot put struck Blake have not been fully released, officials have described the incident as a tragic accident during the competition.
Support for the Crutsinger family has continued pouring in online as the coach begins what doctors say could be a long recovery process.
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