WATERLOO - Two community college students who survived a high-speed accident last week are back in school.

"I should be dead," said Zach Cammoun, 21, of Waterloo.

He and 18-year-old Joseph Carey of Shell Rock were trapped under Carey's overturned 1984 Corvette after the car flipped and flew into a bridge support on Hess Road Thursday.

The two are studying collision repair and refinishing at Hawkeye, the irony of which isn't lost on Cammoun.

He said the convertible Corvette, which Carey bought and fixed up himself, is now beyond any help.

Despite the injuries, Cammoun said he's still friends with Carey.

"I'm not holding a grudge against him," he said.

Cammoun and Carey had just left Hawkeye Community College and were heading into town for lunch when the accident happened.

Ahead of them in a different car was another of Cammoun's friends.

They were going north on Hess Road and had just passed another vehicle when Carey apparently began to lose control of the Corvette and then overcorrected, Cammoun said.

The path from there was apparent by looking at skid marks on the road.

"We fly into the air and do two backflips," Cammoun said.

Matted-down weeds mark a trail through the ditch, and a dark smudge on the concrete overpass support shows where the passenger side of the vehicle hit it.

The Corvette came to a rest on its top, and the driver of the other car, contrary to earlier reports, turned around and offered assistance until crews from Waterloo Fire Rescue arrived and freed Cammoun and Carey.

Cammoun said he suffered lung contusions, a concussion and got 14 staples in his head. He was released from the hospital Saturday.

Carey was out of the hospital the day of the accident, Cammoun said.

Contact Jeff Reinitz

at (319) 291-1578 or

jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.