MAGNA, Utah — While rainy conditions sweep across the state of Utah, a West Valley City man is asking drivers to be careful on slick roads.
Stockton Mackay is still recovering from a crash from almost two years ago.
May 1 will mark two years since Mackay's Nissan hydroplaned and hit an oncoming SUV near SR-201 and 9200 West in Magna.
"I want to get the message that people need to slow down and wear their seatbelts," he said.
Mackay was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
The 27-year-old lost his ability to talk. He can only communicate through a text-to-voice app.
"People have to wait for me," he explained.
His brain injury makes his memory of the crash foggy, but his mother, Heather Maughan, remembers when there was almost no hope.
"They took us back to a room and said, 'It doesn't look good for Stockton. He's been very severely damaged,'" she said.
Medical staff thought he could be paralyzed, but he relearned how to walk.
He can now say "Yes," "No," and "How are you?"
"I keep saying, 'He's not going to do this' and then he does it," said Maughan. "I'm done saying that. He's going to do it."
Patience is key for progress.
"It's hard not to drive anymore," said Mackay. "It's been crappy I can't go bowling."
There's one thing he tries to do every day.
"To keep positive," he said.
"He fights so hard. He works so hard," said Maughan. "And he does it with a smile and I don't know anybody in his position that could smile sometimes."
His mother created a GoFundMe to cover medical expenses and the costs for his therapy. He has speech, physical, and occupational therapy appointments multiple times a week.
To donate, click here.
