Clyde's Swartz 'lucky to be alive' after car accident

CLYDE — Josh Swartz will tee it up at a golf sectional today at Woussickett Golf Course. He will try to qualify for the district tournament for the third straight year. But the fact that Swartz is even playing golf is a victory. The Clyde standout was involved in a harrowing one-car accident two months ago that left him with a couple fractured vertebrae and questions that will never be answered. Swartz got off work at Fremont Country Club on Friday, July 21, and headed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to visit his cousin. He'd made the 2 1/2-hour drive a handful of times, but something went terribly wrong on this day. Just west of Bowling Green on U.S. 6, Swartz crossed the center line, went off the road and hit a telephone pole. "Everything was perfectly fine. I can't explain much about the crash because I don't remember any of it," Swartz said. "I was in the ditch when I came back conscious. When I was in the hospital I had no clue what happened; I just thought I went off the road." Swartz's 2009 Chevy Impala was totaled. According to a crash report filed by the Henry County Sheriff, the crash occurred at 12:28 p.m. and first responders arrived on the scene at 12:49. The report states that Swartz "went left off of the road, striking a telephone pole, then traveled over a culvert, finally coming to rest in a ditch embankment." The first two people on the scene, perhaps by divine guidance, were a nurse and a paramedic. "I got out of the car and they asked me what happened and I said 'I don't know.' They told me to lay down and I laid there till the ambulance got there," Swartz said. "Nice day, windows rolled down. The last thing I remember was everything was perfectly fine." Joanne Erdmann, Swartz's mother, said a Life360 app indicated that her son was not on his phone at the time of the crash. He also was driving the speed limit. "Just lucky. I don't know how … yeah," she said. "He got very, very lucky and to watch him play makes me very proud and I'm thankful it wasn't any worse." 'Crushed together' Erdmann was sleeping when her son crashed his car shortly after a shift on the Fremont CC grounds crew. She was working the night shift and was awakened by her phone. That call is every parent's worst nightmare. "The phone woke me up. As soon as he said, 'this is fire rescue' I knew instantly," she said. "Right away they said 'he's OK' and I could hear Josh in the background." Swartz was taken to Wood County Hospital in Bowling Green, where he underwent a CT scan to determine whether there was a medical reason for the crash. Fractures were discovered in his back, so he was sent to a trauma center in Toledo. "That night, I've never felt that much pain. It was terrible," Swartz said. "It was probably four hours screaming in pain till they gave me something to knock me out." Two of his vertebrae were fractured. One was crushed but stable. "It was like a puzzle piece, crushed together," he said. "It was still stable so I didn't have to have surgery. They let it heal together. The last possible option would've been surgery." The plan was to see whether his injuries would heal on their own. Surgery at such a young age — Swartz is 16 and just got his driver's license in February — could mean back pain down the road. Swartz was put on bed rest for two weeks. Two weeks later, he asked the doctor whether he could play golf. It would be a gradual return. He came to practices and walked the course during early-season meets. "I started coming to practice just chipping and putting," Swartz said. "I didn't take anything more than 25 percent of a swing. "It was scary to twist my back like that because I had been told not to twist my back for weeks. I was hesitant to turn." Low numbers Swartz returned to action with the Fliers on August 22 — one month and a day after the accident. If there was any question whether one of the area's top golfers would be a factor this season, Swartz soon answered it. His 18-hole average since returning is 76.25. His 9-hole average is 38.75. Swartz shot a 74 at the SBC Championships last week at Thunderbird North and followed up with a 75 this week at the Edison Invitational at Sawmill Creek. Clyde golf coach Rob Jennings marvels at Swartz's recovery. "Having taught for as long as I have, I've been through the experience of losing kids, even on a team that I coached," Jennings said. "It was just scary for everybody. We just wanted him to be OK and live a normal life, let alone go out and shoot good golf scores." The top three teams and four individuals not on qualifying teams at the sectional will advance to district play. The sectional is loaded with talent, so Swartz will need a quality round to move on. Considering where Swartz was two months ago, playing tournament golf in October would be a miraculous feat. "It took a lot of pressure off. If I didn't play good, nobody was gonna say anything," Swartz said about his comeback. "I think I can go to districts. It's going to be harder to get out than in years past." Swartz credits Fremont Country Club professional Brian Boggs with his recent strong play. "I usually dislike my irons, but I went through a swing change with Brian," Swartz said. "He definitely made the last two rounds that I've shot how they are. I was playing good golf but it didn't feel good. I wasn't hitting good shots; I was just scrambling. He went through an entire swing change with me and it felt amazing." Golfing background Swartz attended school in the Fremont system through junior high. He played summer baseball with Clyde kids — including Brayden Olson and Gavyn Boggs — and opted to move in with his mom and become a Flier before his freshman year. "I played with a lot of the guys who play football like Gavyn (Boggs) and Brayden (Olson)," Swartz said. "I started hanging out with them a lot. They persuaded me to go to Clyde. I went to school in Fremont, but I didn't feel like I did anything outside of school. Definitely the best move I made." Swartz grew up around golf. His grandmother Marleen Savage used to take him to the course when he was young. "He doesn't get it from me," Erdmann chuckled. "She would take him with her to the golf course. I think I have a picture of him when he was 3 practicing on the putting green." Marleen and Tom Savage are two of Swartz's biggest fans. His father, Tim Swartz, who lives in Fremont, also is a strong golfer. During the summer, Swartz usually can be found on a golf course with his friends Olson and Boggs. "Over the summer we worked 6-7 hours in the morning and golfed all day, every single day. I'd say on the weekdays I golf at least 18 holes a day with two hours of practice. On the weekends I play up to 54 holes a day." Swartz says he wants to play golf in college. "He has next-level ability, ever since he was a freshman when he couldn't hit it as far as he does now," Jennings said. "He's been taught the game very well and is very dedicated." Swartz said his back gets sore from time to time but doesn't hurt. He's driving his mom's Jeep now. Erdmann admits that she gets "very, very nervous" when her son drives. Swartz said his mom will drive on the next trip to Fort Wayne. He realizes how lucky he was to walk away from a car-versus-telephone pole exchange that left its mark in the hood of his car. "I was so confused. I'm pretty sure I hit my head," he said about the accident. "I'm pretty sure most of the doctors I saw said I was lucky to be alive, let alone walking."