Despite doctors predicting only a 1% chance of survival, Janina Akporavbare made a remarkable recovery after a pole impaled her while driving on the freeway.
Her difficult path back to health required immense strength and resilience, including three surgeries, nearly two months at Loma Linda University Medical Center, and extensive rehabilitation afterward.
“They took out part of my colon, part of my liver, part of my kidney—they were all injured,” she told CBS News.
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She is now seeking information from anyone who may recall the crash or the pole on the freeway, as this could help her and her attorney determine who was responsible for leaving it there.
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Redlands resident Akporavbare’s nightmare became real on August 25. While driving on the westbound 10 Freeway near the Tippecanoe exit, she described the harrowing moment she believed she was going to die.
“I just remember seeing this huge pole coming at my car, and I couldn’t swerve, cause it was during rush hour traffic,” she recounted.
The pole flew under her car, ripping through the floorboard, and tragically impaled her in the stomach.
“I woke up and I could feel something dripping on me. It was my blood. I was bleeding through my stomach, the pole was in my stomach,” Akporavbare said.
Despite the car dragging the pole, her determination allowed her to force the vehicle off the road. Her motivation for this quick action was the safety of her younger brother, who was seated in the back.
She recounted, “The pole was really long, so other cars were running over the pole while it was in my stomach.”
She called 911 immediately after the accident. According to the Loma Linda Firefighters Association, Akporavbare’s survival and timely arrival at the hospital were considered “against overwhelming odds.”
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Despite the severity of her injuries, she managed to reach the hospital in a remarkably short 10 minutes from the accident site. Firefighters had to carefully cut the protruding pole, and with a portion of it still embedded inside her body, she was swiftly transported to the hospital in an ambulance for immediate, life-saving surgery.
“I asked the paramedic if he could pinky promise if I make it out of this, if I would make it out of this. He pinky promised me if I made it out, he would visit me in the hospital,” Akporavbare added.
Although she thankfully had health insurance, the accident totaled her car. The nursing student lost a semester of school and work, which compounded the difficulty of her recovery, including her struggle to drive again.
“I feel terrified, I don’t really drive that much, I don’t drive on that freeway,” she said.
Akporavbare expressed gratitude for her recovery and survival and for the assistance she received from her rescuers and those who contributed to her healing, noting that she is currently studying to become a medical professional herself.
“It makes me want to be a nurse even more because I want to help people, like the nurses at Loma Linda helped me.”
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