In June of this year, Samuel Johnson miraculously survived his head injuries that he sustained after a horrific car accident, leaving him fighting for his life and hospital bound for weeks.
The 43-year-old went on The Project on Monday night to discuss the aftermath of his life-changing accident for the first time, and also shared graphic pictures taken when the ambulance crew was treating him.
Speaking with comedian Peter Helliar, Samuel told the host that he “wasn’t expected to survive… I nearly died.”
He continued to explain what happened to his face after the impact of the crash.
Watch Samuel speak to peter on The Project below.
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“My face was really a munty. Basically my whole right side was cactus. I inhaled glass, which is what happens when you face plant a windscreen,” he said.
Samuel told Peter that the only photo he has of the night is the emergency photo.
“It’s the only evidence I have got from the accident scene, that I realised my face had bore the brunt of the impact,” said the actor of the photo.
However, Samuel is grateful he has no memory of the night, and added if he had, he wouldn’t be able to look at the photo.
When he finally woke up 10 days later, his family helped him piece together what happened.
“I got hit between 40 and 50km/h by a small white vehicle. I broke my skull, I fractured my upper neck, and luckily my face bore the brunt of the impact, so my face saved my brain from a lot of the damage,” Sam explained.
Samuel shared this picture from the scene of the accident.
(Samuel Johnson/Channel Ten)“Basically I got hit fairly badly and by the time they got me to hospital, they rushed me into ICU, I tanked, and I had two loved ones with me, I was told later, that were put into the death room – the one with the fridge and the couch where you are private and you are able to be told the bad news.”
Samuel also revealed that he suffered from post-traumatic amnesia, and as a result, he doesn’t remember much from the 10 days after he woke up.
Peter asked the Eden actor how his brain processed the trauma and if anything unusual began to occur.
“I woke up, and I was way more famous than I ever remembered being, photographers tried to get at me while I was inside.
“And I wasn’t in a hospital, I was in a mental hospital, or either my drink had been spiked, maybe I was kidnapped, maybe I was clinically insane, so I thought all kinds of things,” said the 43-year-old.
Samuel in the hospital with his sister by his side.
(Samuel Johnson/Channel Ten)Perhaps most unusually, he revealed that he woke up with a Russian accent.
“I was Russian for a while, I spoke with a heavy Russian accent in three-word sentences for a couple of days, and then I was a Japanese 11-year-old girl.
“Basically, happens when your brain gets wobbled is you go loopy.”
In June, Samuel’s sister Hilde Hinton broke the news of his accident on Facebook.
“I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. Early Saturday night Sam was on his way to visit family when he was accidentally hit by a car,” she wrote.
“I was Russian for a while, I spoke with a heavy Russian accent in three-word sentences for a couple of days.”
(Samuel Johnson/Channel Ten)“Our Ambos got him picked up and tucked away safely in hospital in record time. I followed them in.
‘The fantastical medical staff are in overdrive taking care of his sore head.
“He’s awake and not too happy that he doesn’t have his pants – nobody loves a hospital gown. Hearing his voice is lovely, but can’t wait for hugs when it’s safe,” she finished her message.
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