Couple survives horror crash during trip through Iceland and gets engaged in intensive care: “The nurses applauded and then took him to the operating room”

The British Zak Nelson (28) and Elliot Griffiths (26) had only arrived in Reykjavik on April 19 for a tour of Iceland when disaster struck. On the highway, their rental car was hit at 90 kilometers per hour by an oncoming vehicle that suddenly deviated from its lane. The vehicle ended up on its side, Zak and Elliot were rescued from the wreck with serious injuries. “We did not know whether the other was still alive until we were reunited very briefly in intensive care,” it said. “And then Elliot asked me to marry him.”

Source: BBC, Newsflare, SWNS

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Zak and Elliot have been a couple for two years and have long dreamed of a tour of Iceland. They would take the famous Ring Road, a 1,300 kilometer long road that passes through all the iconic places in Iceland. When they landed in Reykjavik on April 19, they lost no time: the couple rented a car, first visited the Blue Lagoon and then drove east to view geysers, craters and volcanoes.

But just far from the Icelandic town of Selfoss, things went wrong when an oncoming vehicle suddenly crossed the full white line and drove straight towards them. “It went so fast,” said Zak, who was behind the wheel when the accident happened. “I remember seeing the car, thinking we were going to collide and trying to swerve… But it was too late, there was nothing I could do.” Their car flipped over and landed on the passenger’s side, leaving Elliot pinned to the ground and Zak dangling in the air by his seat belt. “We’re lucky to be alive if you see the wreckage.”

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The two were seriously injured and only semi-conscious when they were taken by ambulance to the hospital in the Icelandic capital. “We didn’t know if we were going to survive,” he said. “One didn’t even know if the other was still alive until the nurses pushed our beds together in intensive care. ” And then Elliot asked Zak a question. “He asked if I wanted to marry him and I immediately said yes. There in intensive care. All the nurses applauded. And then they rolled you away so you could have surgery.”

Zak was in less serious condition than his fiancée and was allowed to leave the hospital after a few days. He quickly bought a ring in downtown Reykjavik to make the engagement completely official. “It has a pattern of dragons on it,” says Zak. “And now he’s officially mine.” The couple were due to fly back home at the end of April, but Elliot underwent surgery because he had internal bleeding and is not yet allowed to leave the hospital. He and Zak hope that one day they can return to Iceland – as a couple – to explore the country.