BEAUMONT, Texas — Friday as West Brook High School Football players prepared to take the field, some player were missing. Four of them were in an accident off of Brooks Road in Beaumont back in July. Raybren Morris, Ja'Kobi Holland, Thaddeus Johnson and Noah Washington were all hurt.
The week of West Brook's first game, head football coach Eric Peevey was thinking back to the day the four athlete's lives changed. He was heading home from a vacation with his family when he got the call that some of his players were in the hospital.
"I drove in as fast as I could, for three hours, got in, went straight to the hospital," Peevey said.
Morris lost control of his car, and ended up in a ditch. He and Washington underwent immediate surgery. While Morris and Johnson are now on the mend, Holland's leg was broken. Washington, who had hopes of earning a basketball scholarship, suffered a severe spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed.
RELATED: Four West Brook football players injured in rollover crash near Beaumont, prayer vigil held Sunday
"It was pretty rough but when you walk in, you see the support of 400 kids lining the entire hospital and parents and everybody's there for them," Peevey said.
Peevey appeared on 409 Sports Xs and Os podcast with sports director Ashly Elam, where he gave on update on the boy's condition. Johnson, a wide receiver, is back in action. Holland, a starting running back for the Bruins, continues to rehab.
"He's working hard so we're hoping to get him back later in the year," Peevey said.
Last week, Washington's grandmother posted an update on Facebook. In it, she said he was able to come home, and this his progress has been "nothing short of a miracle."
"He came by the school yesterday and we were excited to see him there, and you know, there's a lot of support," Peevey said.
From hospital visits, to prayer vigil's, to Friday night lights, the support has proven unwavering since the day of the accident. A GoFundMe set up for Washington now has over 50,000 dollars in donations, exceeding the original goal.
"We're one family, and we're all in this together," Peevey said.