Sister of Youtuber who suffered brain injury in car accident says he is being treated for pneumonia in latest health update

Andrew Cross’ elder sister Jenna Spooner has said that her brother’s response is mixed; sometimes he reacts to pain at and other times he does not.

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 has been in intensive care ever since, but is in a stable condition.

Just less than a week after his accident, doctors discovered the influencer had suffered a series of strokes. Then, at the beginning of last week, Cross had an MRI scan to discover the extent of his injuries and his family were told the star had ‘severe injuries’ and his ‘prognosis [was] not good’. But, by the end of the week his wife Evelyn shared that her husband has taken a ‘positive step in the right direction’ with his recovery.

The health updates have been given on a Caring Bridge page which has been set up to update Cross’ friends and fans on his condition. In the last post on the page, which was posted on Saturday (February 22) by the social media star’s sister wrote: “Yesterday Andrew got a little spa treatment from Evelyn and her mom. I know he’d appreciate the help to make sure he’s looking his best.

“In the neuro exam yesterday morning, the doctor said Andrew's left eye opened a little bit in response to the pain/pressure they applied. This is a good sign! However, at other times when they’ve done these exams he hasn’t been very responsive, especially on his right side.

“They’re treating him for pneumonia in his right lung. Despite that, Andrew continues to do great breathing on his own during the day with a little support from the ventilator at night to give him a rest.”

In another post, written the day before, Evelyn said that “herself or a friend will only post an update [the Caring Bridge page] if there is a “noteworthy change” in Cross’ condition. She also said she and other loved ones would be carrying out a 24 hour fast over the weekend as she continued to pray for her husband’s full recovery.

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 still not clear.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by family friend Hannah Schweitzer to help Cross’ family pay for his medical expenses. At the time of writing, on the afternoon of Monday February 24, more than $434,000 (around £344,000) has been raised.