GRAND FORKS — A motorcycle crash survivor returned to Altru Hospital Friday, Sept. 26, to meet the staff who supported him during an almost month-long stay in the intensive care unit, shocking all of them by recovering from injuries many feared would kill him.

"He wouldn't be alive (if not) for the people here," Lori Austgen said of her son, Cooper Austgen.

On Aug. 26, 2024, Cooper Austgen was driving his motorcycle home from work, heading east on U.S. Highway 2 near Emerado, when he struck the median at a high rate of speed. His vehicle rolled and he was ejected from it, according to information released by the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

He said the last thing he remembers thinking was reminiscent of a cartoon scene from The Simpsons. It was something along the lines of, "I'm flying

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