BU Alumnus Michael Costanzo: A Miracle Man

Bluefield University criminal justice graduate Michael Costanzo is a police officer in Charleston, SC. In July 2020, he was involved in a major car accident that killed a tow truck driver and left Costanzo with several critical injuries and fighting for his own life.

While on duty on July 1, Costanzo spotted a stranded motorist and a tow truck on the side of the road. He pulled over to help the tow trucker driver when the driver of a Ford F-350 pulling a trailer crashed into Costanzo’s Dodge Charger. According to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and the family of Costanzo, he had “trauma to his head” and “many broken bones.” Costanzo said he remembers very little from before or after the crash.

“The first thing I remember right after the crash was being in some place on a stretcher, hearing a male voice saying there will be media out there,” Costanzo said. “In my mind, I thought, oh wow, there must be someone famous. I seriously had no idea the media was for me. After that, I recall making it into the parking lot. I saw a bunch of police cars and some of my friends and family. I gave a thumbs up. I still had zero idea they were there for me.”

Costanzo said his next memory was several weeks later when he was told he was in Atlanta, GA, at a hospital.

“I was in a wheelchair and hurt all over, especially my shoulder, which I could not move,” Costanzo said. “After I woke up and was cognizant and actually knew where I was and what was going on, I remember nothing. I didn’t know where I was, and I was there. Part of my head was shaved, and I didn’t know why. I couldn’t walk, and I was confined into what I call a prison tent. In order to get me out of the bed, they had to unzip it from my outside and use a hover lift to transfer me from the bed to my wheelchair and from my wheelchair back to the bed.” 

Costanzo said he also remembers his brother, a retired City of Charleston police officer, being with him at the hospital. His brother stayed in the hospital room with him for the first couple of weeks.

“He was the one who told me I was hit by a truck, and I didn’t believe him,” Costanzo said. “None of it made sense to me how I could be hit by a truck and still alive. But apparently, I’m living proof you can.”

Costanzo suffered a number of injuries from the accident, including: 

• a broken spine in two places 
• a crushed left hip (which resulted in him losing an inch off his left leg and a permanent limp)
• a crushed femur (replaced with a titanium rod)
• a crushed shoulder (repaired with multiple pins)
• damaged ligaments in his right knee, and
• a crushed right ankle (requiring multiple pins to restore).

“I received a traumatic brain injury, I had severe swelling in my brain, and I believe I had a brain bleed,” Costanzo added. “I was transported to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), where they saved my life.”

After a month at MUSC, Costanzo was moved to Shepherd Hospital in Atlanta, GA, for further recovery and the beginning of rehab. He was housed on the same floor as other stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors.

“I affectionately call this place the penitentiary in the ATL,” Costanzo said. “After a month in the ATL prison, I was then transported to the halfway house for further rehabilitation in Atlanta. This place was staffed with nursing 24/7/365 and is a part of the Shepherd Hospital Rehabilitation Hospital. It houses around six or seven patients at a time, and they transported us to the rehabilitation facility and back. I spent two months there.” 

Costanzo is still in recovery three years after the accident. He still has several major surgeries, such as leg lengthening and hip and knee replacement, but despite the long road ahead to recovery he said he still has a positive outlook.

“I still hurt 24/7/365, and I clearly have depression, anxiety, and nightmares,” Costanzo said. “Great news is that I refuse to allow this incident to beat me. It happened. I can’t change it, so I need to deal with it and move on.”

Costanzo said he also uses his faith for encouragement. He said he believes God uses the challenges in our lives to grow us and to make us better people.

“We can choose to use our obstacles as an excuse for our failures or show them off as our successes in life,” Costanzo said. “I’ve always chosen to use my obstacles as my successes and show them off.”

Costanzo added that he’s also grateful the outcome for him was not the same as Will Ellis, the tow truck driver who was killed on the bridge the day the accident occurred. He said he hopes to use the rest of his life to pay tribute to Ellis’ life that was taken way too soon.

“I will always try my best to keep his heroic memory alive,” Costanzo said. “It (the accident) took my career away, but it took Will’s life.”