'His prognosis is not good': Latest update for Youtuber, 34, who suffered traumatic brain injury in car accident

Influencer Andrew Cross, who is known as 'Desert Drifter' on YouTube, was seriously injured in a car accident on the night of Friday January 31.

The 34-year-old social media star, who is a desert adventurer and former Grand Canyon tour guide, sustained a severe traumatic brain injury in the accident. He was rushed to hospital and immediately given brain surgery to bring a bleed on his brain under control. He is now in intensive care, but is in a stable condition.

Just less than a week after his accident, doctors discovered the influencer had suffered a series of strokes. At that time, they told his loved ones they would perform an MRI scan to discover the extent of his injuries when Cross was stable enough.

On a Caring Bridge page which has been set up to update Cross’ friends and fans on his condition, family friend Hannah Schweitzer wrote on Friday (February 14) that an MRI scan had been performed - and the results were “not good”.

She said: “Andrew got his MRI yesterday. The images were not what we were hoping for. The neurosurgeon confirmed Andrew has severe injuries in both his pons (in the brainstem) and cerebellum in addition to the strokes in his left hemisphere. His prognosis is not good. We are processing the news, continuing to pray fiercely for healing.”

Cross, who set up his Youtube channel in 2023 and has 400,000 followers, was on his way back from filming a video at Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, when he was involved in the car accident. The precise circumstances of the incident are not clear at this time.

The morning after the MRI update, however, Schweitzer did post some more positive news. On Saturday (February 15), she said: “ At 7:45 this morning Andrew had a spontaneous breathing trial and he passed! He has been breathing on his own with little support from the ventilator since then.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up by Schweitzer to help Cross’ family pay for his medical expenses. At the time of writing, on the morning of Monday February 17, more than $397,000 (around £315,000) has been raised.

Cross’ wife Evelyn shared her thanks to her husband’s fans and those who had donated, while also expressing her hopes for his recovery, on Sunday (February 16). On the Caring Bridge page, she wrote: “I just wanted to personally say thank you. There have been numerous times in the last two weeks where my hope has wavered and then I’ve read your posts and regained my strength.

“The blessing of this community is something I don’t quite have the words for yet. Thank you thank you thank you. . . We feel strongly that this is still the time to pray powerfully for Andrew’s full healing.”

She also added that her husband was having a better day. “Andrew is having another stable day - he continues to be able to breathe independently with little support from the vent. He is off all sedation and we are just giving him time to see where his neurological function is at as his body weans off of the sedatives.”