VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — It’s been two years since the video of a young Vancouver man falling 60 feet from a broken tree branch on the Washougal River went viral.
In a fall that he said changed his life forever, Kyle Ponciano hit the rocks before falling into the fast-moving river. Initially he was put in a medically induced coma. For nearly three months he couldn’t get out of bed due to his torn abdomen, collapse and bruised lungs, shattered elbow and broken pelvis.
He had been drinking and with 7 beers in his system he was feeling bold, trying to one-up his buddy.
“I was like ‘How’s this one, Riley?’ and he said, ‘Dude, you’re crazy’ and next thing you know I’m splatting on the rocks,” Ponciano said.WARNING: Graphic Video
Now if you look at Ponciano, you might not notice anything wrong.
“I can’t imagine right now getting any more surgeries. I’m so over it,” Ponciano said. “I felt like a little tiny baby giraffe when I started walking. Little tiny baby steps.”
Ponciano and his family believe there was a guardian angel with him that day — his late Grandma June.
“I genuinely think someone was looking out for me,” Ponciano told KOIN 6 News.
Physically, it was that shattered elbow that saved his life. If his arm hadn’t struck the rocks first, his head would have smashed into them.
“Dead meat, yeah,” he said. “Watching the video, I still don’t know how I didn’t even have a concussion at all.”
All that pain earned Ponciano his 15 minutes of fame. The video of his fall was featured on Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 and while he was able to laugh about it, he’s also been speaking at schools about the consequences of his dumb decision.
Through all that, he’s still just a 22-year-old man and even recently went back to Naked Falls where the accident happened. He said he jumped from the rocks about half as high as the tree branch he fell from.
“It’s too beautiful a spot to not go back,” he said. “I think to go back and enjoy it responsibly is the best move.”
He’s still experiencing some pain and had some x-rays done so doctors can determine if it’s caused by damage to his lower back and pelvis.
