An Iowa high school student, who recently celebrated his graduation from his hospital bed, suffered a major car crash just weeks before, after falling asleep behind the wheel. He recently recounted his experience, including a moment in which he “heard God” shortly after crashing into a ditch.
As reported by We Are Iowa, South Hardin High School senior Grayden Harless was driving near Hubbard on May 8, 2026. He was just a week from his high school graduation.
Grayden, who was preparing for finals at the time, was probably tired of all his studying. At one point during his trip, he fell asleep behind the wheel, and what followed changed his life.
The recent high school graduate plowed nose-first into a ditch. At that moment, Grayden woke up.
“I Heard God”
Feeling a disturbance as his right front wheel hit the ground, Grayden opened his eyes and experienced the entire car crash, fully awake, he told the outlet.
Eventually, the car landed on its four wheels, but he could immediately feel that he had been severely injured. He detailed, “My L1 burst, and then my T12 fractured. That’s part of my spine. I couldn’t walk. I still can’t walk right now.”
At that moment, he realized he needed urgent help if he wanted to make it out alive. Suddenly, he felt compelled to act.
“I heard God in my head telling me, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get this phone. You’ve got to call 911, or you’re not going to walk again,'” Grayden said.
Thankfully, Grayden did call emergency services. He was transported to MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, where he remained in the ICU for more than a week.
Missing Graduation, Celebration From Hospital Bed
While he praised the care received, particularly from his night nurses, he unfortunately missed his graduation, as he was in the ICU while his fellow graduates walked the stage.
“I wish I was there in some aspects, and in other aspects, I’m glad I wasn’t,” Grayden said.
Fortunately for him, he managed to attend the graduation from a distance. As KCRG reported, Brayden’s family and MercyOne staff members managed to project the graduation in an auditorium. His extended family was in attendance, and Gradyen’s teacher even handed him his diploma in person.
“Everybody was pretty emotional, because I mean, some of them, it was the first time they saw me after the accident,” Grayden told the outlet.
Recovering, Dreams Unbroken
The accident, unfortunately, left Grayden Harless permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Without the freedom to move around and the inability to take care of himself, the high school graduate is having a hard time.
Still, he refuses to let this moment hinder his future, fully embracing a future that remains to be determined. And with rehabilitation and physical therapy, Grayden detailed that he would love to be able to walk with a cane in the future and even become a social worker.
“I may not be able to walk around with them, but I’ll sure as heck be able to wheel around with them,” he told KCRG.