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3 Members of TLC’s Meet the Putmans Family Killed in Car Accident
The Putman brothers are remembering an unimaginable tragedy.
Six months after patriarch Bill “Papa” Putman, matriarch Barb "Neenee" Putman and daughter-in-law Megan Putman died in a car crash Sept. 26, Blake Putman—dad to kids Noah, 15, Lulu, 13, and Alena, 11, with Megan—shared an update on his family’s well-being.
“I remember the entire thing,” Blake, 37, who was driving the car when it was struck by a semi-truck told People in an interview published Mar. 13. “I remember the car hitting us. I remember being on the road. I remember a lot of scenes inside the vehicle.”
The Meet the Putmans star recalled, “He hit my door, and how God allowed me to be where I am today, I’m not really sure.”
Blake—who was transporting eight family members including his parents, wife, kids and brother Brandon Putman’s 11-year-old daughter Gia—was driving one of three cars as the Putman family was headed home from one of Noah’s football games. About one mile from their Caro, Mich. home, a semi-truck drove through a stop sign, the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office previously told NBC News, claiming three lives.
“Megan had her arms around me when he hit us, and my dad was sleeping,” Blake recalled. “My mom and dad and Megan, they died on the scene. The autopsy said that they were immediately gone. There was no saving them.”
Meanwhile, Blake suffered a “couple broken bones” in his neck as well as a broken nose and some lacerations.
In another car, Brandon and his wife Kacie Putman witnessed the entire incident.
TLC/YouTube
"There's only one thing that could come out of my mouth, and it was, 'Dear God, save my kids,'" Kacie explained. "He did that. He saved every one of our kids."
While the brothers’ kids survived the accident, their injuries were severe. While Lulu sustained a pelvic fracture, Alena suffered a clavicle fracture, and both Noah and Gia had traumatic brain injuries.
Noah spent two weeks in the ICU and underwent two months in rehab, but is now back at school, playing football and wrestling, according to the family.
But Gia’s path has been more difficult. After being airlifted to the hospital, she has undergone 10 brain surgeries since the crash. Though she returned home in January, she still requires a tracheostomy—a surgically created opening in the neck, according to Mayo Clinic—to help with breathing.
"I remember pulling Noah out of the car, and I didn't think he'd be the same as he is," Brandon, 39, explained. "The way he's bounced back and is stronger in almost every facet than he was before in a short amount of time is amazing. Gia, the same thing."
In the face of Tragedy, Brandon shared how the family has leaned on each other to get through the difficult time.
“But this family, we circle each other, and when one person’s weak, we pick them up,” he said. “God bless my dad for having the vision to bring us together like that and to teach us these principles to live by.”
English (US)