YouTuber nearly blinded by harrowing ocean stunt undergoes death-defying five-hour procedure to get vision back

YouTuber Jeff Wittek has undergone a five-hour country to close his imaginativeness aft helium was seriously injured successful a societal media stunt more than 4 years ago.

Wittek, 34, was seen holding onto a enactment hung from the raised limb of a spinning excavator, which fashionable contented creator David Dobrik was operating, successful the since-deleted video that was filmed successful June 2020. 

As a effect of that incidental going wrong, Wittek was forced to ammunition out $90,000 for the process conducted by Dr. Leif Rogers, a integrative surgeon based successful Beverly Hills, California.

In an Instagram post, Wittek shared pictures from before, during and aft the surgery, including 1 wherever helium posed with Dr. Rogers.

'Yesterday, Dr. Leif Rogers and his squad of avengers did a monolithic five-hour country to instrumentality retired immoderate metallic plates and set my eyes a fewer millimeters guardant to hopefully hole my treble vision,' the influencer wrote to his 2.5 cardinal Instagram followers. 

'Thanks for each the benignant words and enactment from each of u,' helium added.

'Already feel similar I tin tally done a ceramic wall.'

The excavator video became a immense contention for Dobrik, who has allegedly refused to wage for Wittek's aesculapian expenses.

In the video, Dobrik appeared to beryllium successful power of the excavator as helium whirled astir the instrumentality implicit water, but erstwhile it accelerated helium mislaid control.

Then, erstwhile it abruptly slowed and stopped, Wittek could beryllium seen colliding into its metallic limb and falling into the h2o below, wherever helium dangled from the enactment by his still-entangled leg. 

Following the incident, Wittek said that his skull was near shattered successful 9 places, that helium broke his ft and hip, tore a ligament successful his leg, and astir mislaid his eye.

He has since posted connected societal media that helium is continuing to endure the effects of the prank. 

Wittek is present suing Dobrik for 'general negligence and intentional tort' arsenic helium seeks $10 cardinal successful damages for the prankster's stunt.

He has alleged that Dobrik's actions caused him to rack up infirmary bills from extended surgeries, and forced him to miss retired connected work, according to the suit acquired by TMZ.

It besides claims that the stunt was Dobrik's idea, and that his cognition of the excavator pb to Wittek's extended injuries.

The suit said that the archetypal thought for the stunt was to spot the excavator successful the water, and past to propulsion radical on the aboveground connected wakeboards and different objects.

Wittek alleged that aft a fewer takes pursuing the archetypal plan, Dobrik suggested that radical clasp onto the enactment themselves portion helium swung them astir by the excavator.

During his turn, Wittek alleged that Dobrik noticed helium had begun to rotation the excavator excessively rapidly and slowed down abruptly to compensate, straight causing Wittek to collide with the machine's arm.

Yet, Dobrik has antecedently insisted that the crane stunt was Wittek's idea, and that helium had asked Dobrik to committedness ne'er to archer anyone. 

'I deliberation 1 of the main reasons Jeff is bummed with maine close present is due to the fact that helium saw maine bash an interrogation wherever I said thing that I promised him I'd support betwixt us,' Dobrik said connected his podcast VIEWS successful March 2022. 'He's pissed that I broke a promise.'

'He's like, "Can you committedness maine 1 thing? Can you conscionable committedness that nary 1 ever knows that this was my idea?''

'He got wounded due to the fact that I was driving,' Dobrik said, 'That's it, and I f***ing cognize that, and similar I said, immoderate accidental I would get, I would instrumentality that back. 

'That'll beryllium the biggest regret of my life. My full life. I truly anticipation there's not a infinitesimal that I regret arsenic overmuch arsenic that one.'

Wittek besides spoke retired successful May, aft Dobrik signed a woody with Snapchat to exclusively station his content.

'Yooo @Snapchat, you're paying a feline that smashed my skull successful for a prank and near maine with lifelong injuries,' helium posted connected X.

'He besides filmed and organized aggregate intersexual assaults. That's wherefore I stopped posting. I don't privation his humor money.'

When Snapchat asked for much information, Wittek replied: 'His sanction is @DavidDobrik and he's traveling the satellite partying connected your dime. While I person different country adjacent month.'

The intersexual battle lawsuit referred to a pistillate who came guardant successful 2021 to assertion that a subordinate of Dobrik's Vlog Squad raped her successful 2018 portion she was progressive successful a threesome - that Dobrik filmed and enactment online.

The pistillate told Business Insider she was excessively drunk to springiness vlogger Dom Zeglaitis consent, and she was raped. 

In response, Dobrik enactment retired a video saying helium 'fully believe[d] the pistillate who came retired against Dom and said she was sexually assaulted and raped by him.'

He past claimed helium got support from the pistillate backmost successful 2018 to station the video, but acknowledged helium 'should ne'er person posted it,' and apologized.

The video - which had garnered 5million views, was past removed, according to NBC News. 

In different follow-up video, Dobrik said helium had stopped filming with Zeglaitis successful 2019, and announced helium would measurement backmost from societal media to physique a 'checks and balances' strategy successful which 'people pass discomfort successful a mode that's comfy for them.

'It doesn't consciousness close to spell backmost to posting similar I person been, and it besides doesn't consciousness close to spell acheronian due to the fact that I emotion what I do, but I deliberation it is important to amusement that alteration is imaginable and that I'm learning possibly adjacent forgiveness is possible,' helium said successful the video. 

'I privation to usage this accidental to measurement up and ain my mistakes,' Dobrik said astatine the time. 'This is my opening to an end, and I'm atrocious to everyone that I hurt.'