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Hit-and-run victim left with broken back, new perspective

"'It isn't you I'm worried about, it's the other guy.' I never really got that because I could never fathom someone doing that until it happened."
Michael Lux was left with a broken back after he says he was forced off a road in Snohomish County by a hit and run driver. (Credit: KING)

Every movement hurts.

Life is now a painful struggle that 21-year-old Michael Lux never saw coming.

"You don't think about these things," said Lux. "I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't walk around like I'm Superman."

Lux was out for a morning drive around Snohomish last Saturday when he tried to pass a car on Lowell-Larimer Road near Highway 9.

The car wouldn't let him pass and actually sped up as an oncoming vehicle headed straight for him. At one point, the car actually made contact with Lux's, forcing him off the road and into a tree.

He's now reminded of the words his parents always told him.

"You always hear your parents say, 'It isn't you I'm worried about, it's the other guy.' I never really got that because I could never fathom someone doing that until it happened," said Lux.

Lux broke two vertebrae. He's lucky he wasn't paralyzed or killed. He now faces at least three months of recovery and rehab.

"It opened my eyes a lot to how quick that roadway can take something away from you," he said.

The Washington State Patrol is now looking for a silver Mazda 3. It likely has front end damage and is missing a side mirror. Anyone with information should contact Detective Kevin Nelson at 360-654-1143 or kevin.nelson@wsp.wa.gov.

In retrospect, Lux wishes he'd never tried to pass that car and he now realizes that there's no such thing as Superman.

But he's grateful for his life and the perspective he has gained.

"If I can use this as more of a means to propel myself forward, then I'm going to look at it in every single aspect I can like that," he said.

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