Full circle: Teen car crash survivor training to become firefighter 2 years after horrific accident

KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- In December 2020, a Tompkins High School football player fought for his life in the intensive care unit after a devastating crash. Now, two years later, he is aiming to help others.

Samuel "Sam" Mills was ejected from his vehicle on Dec. 26 after losing control and hitting a curb while driving home from his job at Chick-fil-A on Pin Oak Road.

According to the Fort Bend Sheriff's Office, Mills' car flipped over at least twice. He was 17 years old at the time.

ORGINAL STORY: Katy ISD football player in ICU after being thrown from car during crash, mom says

"Whenever I saw a hard thing, I didn't run away from it; I ran towards it," Mills said.

Mills' road to recovery wasn't easy in the slightest. He underwent physical therapy and speech therapy.

The support of his loving family, the community, and God, he credits, is what helped him get through it.

"I learned a lot through my treatments. My verbal communications, my occupational therapy, my physical therapy especially," Mills said.

Now in 2022, Sam was approached by a firefighter while working at his Chick-Fil-A job. He handed Sam a business card and said to call him.

Sam did and felt inspired.

He then applied and got into the Harris County Firefighter Academy.

"It's our turn, not even as a family but as an individual, to pay it forward to those first responders. Because, boy, they don't get recognized very much. And I'm glad Sam has decided to go into this field just to pay it forward," Carrie Mills, Sam's mother, said.

A full circle moment as the now 19-year-old Sam Mills is inspired by those who saved him from paying it forward and helping others.

"I have all faith in him. He's a fighter," Sam's mom said.

The training will begin on Oct. 4 and will go on for several months at the Harris County Fire Academy.

Sam says he's looking forward to learning and growing. He aims to give back to the community that supported him through one of the most challenging moments in his young life.

For more on Sam's journey, click here.

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