ZOARVILLE, Ohio — "I can remember a lot of it, but I couldn't really comprehend a lot of things that were happening," Brynn Goedel recalls.
Nov. 14, 2023 is a blur for Goedel. On that day, a trip to Columbus for the Tuscarawas Valley High School band turned into a fiery, tragic crash.
"I had a concussion, I had a clavicle injury, I had some rib fractures, and my bladder laceration and my pelvis was broken in 13 places," she says now. "So that was most of my injury, and then my sacrum was split and it went up on my spinal cord."
Goedel was one of 18 who were seriously hurt in the wreck. Six others were killed — three chaperones and three students, including Brynn's best friend Katelyn Owens."
"We played the clarinet together, so she always sat beside me," Brynn remembered, adding that this Sunday would've been Katelyn's 16th birthday. "So it's kind of weird not having her there, but I know that things happen for a reason and I know that she's looking down on all of us and hoping the best for us."
Goedel spent a month and a half in the hospital. She underwent four surgeries — one for her injuries and three more after her incision got infected.
She tells 3News she was able to watch Owens' funeral virtually, which she was thankful for. She also met the man who helped pull her from the wreckage, calling him her hero.
"And he just came in and we both just started crying because I was so thankful for him," she said. "And he was apologizing, because he was, like, 'Sorry I was so rough.' And I'm like, 'No, dude. Never apologize to me.'"
Brynn has been back at school for the last two weeks, using her walker and wheelchair to get around. She's thankful to be surrounded by her friends, band family, and school community as they continue to mourn everyone lost that day.
"It is weird not having them there," Brynn says, "and we are always thinking of them."
On Saturday, a benefit for Goedel will take place at Tusky Valley Elementary School staring at 4 p.m.