A year after being hit by a car and fracturing his skull and spine, a Nashville basketball player is working to get back out on the court.
Doctors gave his family a grim prognosis about his recovery, including saying he might not ever eat or breathe on his own. Now, through hard work, the young man is walking with a walker and on his way to realizing his dream of playing ball again.
Torrian Poore, who played for his Knowledge Academy team before his injury, suffered a punctured lung, a cracked skull, a break in his leg, and various other serious injuries to his body after a car plowed into him as he walked to a store in his hometown. According to reports, the teen was taking a route down a roadway with no sidewalks on March 14, 2021, when he was struck by a vehicle at about 1 p.m. in the Nashville neighborhood of Antioch.
Local station WVTF reported that a police report stated the motorist recognized she hit “something.” She circled back to the scene and did not claim to be injured. Officers also did not see any signs of trauma on her part. The report also did not state if the driver was issued a citation, WVTF said.
The accident was horrific, leaving his family afraid for his life.
“I mean, just panic, hoping that he was not dead, that he was still here—that he could just continue to fight,” said the teen’s father, Tavares Poore.
WKRN reported Poore at one point had to be on a ventilator to sustain his breathing.
The convalescent teen was so banged up he spent most of his freshman year at Knowledge Academy in and out of the hospital, according to WTVF.
“He was unconscious for like a month and a half. He had TBI, extensive brain damage, cracked vertebrae, punctured lungs, and everything,” said Tavares Poore.
Today, Poore is shocking his doctors, family, and friends with his tremendous progress. The accident frightened the family but has shown them his resilience through his progress in therapy.
To get better, he has participated in speech, physical, water, and occupational therapy to help strengthen various body and developmental functions.
“He’s starting to go back to school. And I mean, just constantly talking about his passion for basketball and getting back to school with his friends,” said the dad.
According to the family, the 14-year-old’s hard work is not the only thing keeping him going. The relatives said the community, including people from St. Louis and hospital staff at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, have prayed for the teen to recover fully.
As great as the strides that Poore is making, he has a long way to go. Still, he is not giving up and is locked in on his dreams.
“I want to be a coach or play basketball again,” said Torrian. “Like I never knew I was going to get in an accident to stop me from playing basketball.”
Adding to his testimony, “Nothing can stop me.”
