‘I thought I was going to die’: Crete couple recovering after being hit by car

CRETE, Neb. (KLKN) – A Crete couple was going to watch their daughter cheerlead at a football game on Friday night when a car careened into them.

Tara and Alex Pruitt were walking to the stadium on Doane University’s campus when Tara noticed a car out of the corner of her eye.

“They just came barreling at me and hit me,” she said. “A bystander said I flew up into the air, hit the roof and then hit the ground. I just remember being on the ground and feeling like I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was going to die.”

Her husband, Alex, describing the horrifying moments when he was hit a split second later.

“I heard my wife holler and heard brakes squealing and when I turned to look at her, she was already hitting the ground,” he said. “Next thing I know, I got hit and I got thrown backwards and slammed the back of my head against the concrete.”

Those mere seconds changed the course of their life forever.

Alex’s tibia is broken in three spots, leaving him unable to move without a wheelchair or crutches.

But his wife is even worse off. Tara is still in the hospital dealing with six broken ribs, seven broken bones in her spine and a partially collapsed lung.

“Everything just hurts so badly,” she said. “They have me on a lot of pain medications and just trying to keep me comfortable, but it’s really difficult.”

Crete Police said the driver who hit the Pruitts stayed on the scene. He is being ticketed with willful reckless driving.

Tara said she’s having a hard time coming to terms with what happened.

“I’m sad, I’m angry, I’m hurt,” she said. “I’m confused as to why this happened. Just a lot of different emotions.”

The one thing that’s keeping the couple positive is their support system.

Their children, friends and the Crete community are rallying behind them by setting up a GoFundMe and a meal train.

“I can’t be with my husband, so they’re checking on him every day, making sure he has what he needs, getting my daughter to school,” Tara said. “It means everything to me to have such a strong community.”