Thanks to extensive therapy, Joe has slowly started gaining his independence back and is now even driving again. Following the life-changing accident, Joe says he learned the hard way who his real friends were. The car crashed after he hit a curb and erupted into flames. The New Jersey-based 26 year old only survived because two onlookers pulled him out of the fiery explosion. By the time he arrived at the hospital, 80 percent of Joe’s body was covered in third-degree burns. He was in a medically induced coma for two months then underwent more than 20 reconstructive surgeries before his doctors finally found a match for him to receive a face and hand transplant.
