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'I had a guardian angel': Browns' Myles Garrett grateful to walk away from car accident

BEREA, Ohio − Myles Garrett bore the physical scars of his one-car accident four days earlier as he stood inside the Cleveland Browns' locker room Friday.

The emotional ones, though, he'll never allow anyone to see.

"I think emotionally I'm pretty grounded with everything, I've put it behind me," Garrett said Friday in his first public comments since the accident on Monday. "Physically I'm still dealing with some of the injuries that came along with it but it's really just a blur, it all happened pretty fast and sometimes, the last couple nights I've sat and thought about some of the different situations, scenarios, how it played out, but knowing that I can't change the past, just got to keep moving forward and glad everyone's all right."

Garrett's status for Sunday's game at Atlanta remains uncertain as he deals with a sprained shoulder and a biceps strain. The Browns officially ruled both Garrett and fellow defensive end Jadeveon Clowney were questionable against the Falcons, with coach Kevin Stefanski saying the team wanted to take "the next 24 to 48 hours" to evaluate both players.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett spends a quiet moment alone before training camp on Saturday, July 30, 2022 in Berea.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett spends a quiet moment alone before training camp on Saturday, July 30, 2022 in Berea.

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For Garrett, it had been almost 96 hours of evaluation since his Porsche 911 Turbo S rolled over on State Road in Sharon Township. Both he and his passenger, 23-year-old Yiana Tjotjos, spent the next few hours in an area hospital before being released.

Pictures from the accident scene showed the mangled results of a car which "struck a ditch, fire hydrant and overturned several times prior to coming to final rest," according to the official crash report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Garrett said Friday he moved "out of the way of an animal coming from the right and then I remember an approaching car coming the opposite way, which was kind of … quick flashes after that.”

In those quick flashes, Garrett also saw a flash of mortality. He also believes there was another presence along with him, that of his late paternal grandfather who only recently passed away.

"I definitely feel like I had a guardian angel," Garrett said. "It was a very well-built car and I'll miss it. I loved that car. But I had just a family member recently pass away who I know is watching over me and just joined his wife. I know that they are very happy to see me come out of that car and be able to walk under my own power. It's just a blessing to have them watching over me now and being able to watch every game and I know they had something to do with us being able to get out of that car as safe and as healthy as we did."

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns' Myles Garrett makes first comments on car accident