Jessi Combs had a frightening near-death experience years before her tragic death earlier this week. The racer tragically passed away Tuesday after being involved in a fatal crash in Oregon. Back in 2007, she nearly lost her life in a similar accident, leaving her hospitalized and in physical therapy for eight months.
PEOPLE first reported the first accident took place while she was in the studio for series Xtreme 4×4. The Mythbusters star was reportedly “folded in two” from a large piece in machinery that fell on her, breaking her spine’s L3.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The racer required surgery for the injury that could have led to her being i a wheelchair permanently, though bed rest and therapy for eight months led to a full recovery.
The accident led Combs to exit the Spike television show in pursuit of other opportunities, including her eventually joining Mythbusters in Season 7.
“Appreciative of her health and her time with Xtreme 4×4, Jessi chose to move on with her career and in 2008 left the show in pursuit of other opportunities,” Combs’ website said of her state of mind after the life-threatening accident.
Combs recalled the frightening experience back in January 2018, as she commemorated the 11-year anniversary of the incident.
View this post on Instagram
“The only thing that limiting you, is you…” she wrote in the caption of an X-ray. “Today marks the 11th anniversary of the day my life completely changed. Fragments away from loosing all feeling in my legs, and yet miraculously came out stronger and more determined than ever.
“Because of this painfully altering incident, I have done more and accomplished more than I ever thought humanly possible. What’s stopping you? #blessingindisguise #getoutandkickass” she ended the post.
Combs died on the scene after police responded to the site of a jet car attempting to break a land speed record crashed in the Alvord Desert in southeastern Oregon.
Adam Savage shared his grief on Twitter, writing, “I’m so so sad, Jessi Combs has been killed in a crash. She was a brilliant & too-notch builder, engineer, driver, fabricator, and science communicator, & strove everyday to encourage others by her prodigious example. She was also a colleague, and we are lesser for her absence.”
“My heart goes out to her family,” he added in another tweet.
“So sorry to hear about Jessi,” wrote former Mythbusters star Grant Imahara on Twitter. “She was a talented builder and host, and above all, a go-getter.”
