GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Wyoming high school senior who planned to join the U.S. Marines and become a police officer will celebrate his 18th birthday Monday in the intensive care unit.
He is recovering from a skiing accident last month at the Cabrefae Peaks Ski Resort.
Ethan Duzan started skiing when he was 5 years old. It was something he, his dad and four siblings did together at the Cadillac-area ski resort where they have a family pass.
“I didn’t realize how much he was my go-to kid for getting stuff done and just helping out,” Amy Jo Duzan said of her son, who she described as a steady, focused, disciplined young man.
Ethan Duzan is a black belt in karate and an active student at Kent Career Technical Center, where he was studying criminal justice.
Around 3 p.m. Feb. 3, he was skiing with his dad.
“I was about 100 yards behind him,” dad Chris Duzan said.
It is estimated that Ethan Duzan was going about 40 mph when he swerved to avoid hitting another skier.
“The doctors said it was like a head-on collision with a car,” his mother said. “He didn’t have the car to protect him so he stopped but all his internal organs kept going.”
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