Logan Liles, Senior at the University of Oklahoma, is a quadriplegic after a snowboarding accident. VIDEO: Blake Cawood and Staci Sumurdy, run 4:23
Student overcomes paralyzing accident and carries on with a successful college
lifestyle.
Logan Liles went on a snowboarding trip his Sophomore year that changed his life forever. As Liles was boarding down Purgatory Mountain in Durango, CO., he impacted the ground and broke his C4 vertebrae in his back and injured his C5 vertebrae in his neck.
“The scariest part was not being able to scream for help,” said Liles.
Liles was life flighted to the Intensive Care Unit, and three hours later received the news
of his quadriplegic paralysis, which is of the arms ad legs. He spent the rest of his
spring semester off of school, but made a miraculous return the following fall.
During Lilesʼ recovery period, his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, made renovations to the
fraternity house. Two ramps were installed; one outside of the house and one indoors.
Lilesʼ bedroom door was reconstructed to open outward, and his bathroom and
bedroom were made wheelchair accessible. Surrounded by the family-like setting and
support of his brothers, Liles spent his Junior year living at Phi Delta Theta.
Driving is one of the many things that Liles continues to do despite the accident. His
truck has equipment that helps him get from the ground to the drivers seat, and a lever
that picks up and stows his wheelchair to and from the trunk bed. Liles controls the
equipment from a pad located beside the steering wheel.
For his Senior year, Liles currently lives at The Edge apartments. He commutes to
campus from his apartment to Phi Delta Theta, where his electric wheelchair is. Liles
rides it to all of his classes from the fraternity.
