Brannen Greene surprisingly declared for the 2016 NBA Draft and hired an agent, foregoing his college eligibility to attempt to follow his dreams. Greene is not viewed as a top prospect and will almost certainly go undrafted.
But the story surrounding the former Kansas Jayhawk is no longer about his draft status and instead on his life. The small forward nearly lost his life in a car accident in White Plains, New York on Friday, according to the Kansas City Star.
Greene was driving in an Uber when the car was hit from behind. The impact was strong enough to launch the vehicle into the air where it collided with an overpass before falling back to the ground.
Both Greene and the driver immediately climbed out of the car upon landing on the ground. Seconds later, the vehicle caught on fire and exploded. Fortunately, both occupants were unharmed.
Greene’s father recounted the event from his son’s perspective:
“The police said Brannen should not have survived,” Greene said. “He walked away from it with a terrible headache, all-over body aches, but for the most part, he’s just dealing with mental trauma. To think he survived this…He said when the car got hit, he felt like he was sleeping, dreaming. He said, ‘I could see all this fire and it was getting hot.’ He said, ‘I’ve got to get out. I couldn’t get out. I couldn’t find my seatbelt and the wraps. I got scared. I finally hit it and the seat belt came loose. I jumped out the window and started running. Five seconds later, it sounded like a bomb.’”
Fortunately, Greene and the driver were unharmed and can continue their lives without suffering any major injuries. Greene even took to Twitter to express his gratitude:
Everything happens for a reason. I'm all good and healthy! Back to playing ball already. Thank you everyone for the love and support!
— Brannen Greene (@b_greene14) May 22, 2016
Brannen Greene will now hope to rise up draft boards or get a training camp invite to prove his worth in the league. But for now, he can be content with the fact that he nearly escaped a deadly situation.
