“I woke up and I didn’t see myself, but I could feel myself under something. My first instinct was to just drive myself away from the tractor-trailer, and once I drove out from under there I got out of the car and I ended up calling 911. That was my first instinct,” he said.

He stated that while he was on the phone with 911 he could see how crushed his face was. According to Gray News, Demacurs decided to overcome all odds to earn a college degree.

With his determination to not let the accident define who he is and who he wants to be in the future, Demarcus graduated from Grambling State University with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

According to Grambling State University’s Facebook, Dermacus decided to return to school after having multiple facial reconstruction surgeries and also having to learn how to talk and breathe again.

“If anyone out there is going through something like this, I just want them to know, stay positive, keep your head up because it’s always a light at the end of the tunnel,” Dermacus said.

Demarcus attributed his achievement to his family, teammates, and professors crediting them for believing in him.