Few things have been harder for Adam Serio than visiting Paist and Durham roads in Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania. It was that very spot 21 years ago where he and four others were involved in a car crash that changed their lives forever.
"I haven't been on this road since April 21, 2004," Serio told NBC10.
Serio attended Central Bucks East as a teenager and was a member of the school’s lacrosse team. On April 21, 2004, Serio and four of his teammates were getting ready for a game.
“I rounded up a bunch of kids to get into a car. And in an instant, our lives were changed forever,” Serio said. “We were coming up to this turn and then everything went black.”
The teens were involved in a four-vehicle car crashed that crushed their Volkswagen Jetta.
“I was floating in darkness,” Serio said. “And when I came back, I heard people outside the window.”
Serio was temporarily blinded due to the crash and had to undergo several surgeries. His friend and the driver of the vehicle, 18-year-old Brandon Boger, died from his injuries nine months later. Serio told NBC10 he blamed himself for Boger’s death.
“For years, I just let myself capsize and hated myself and hated God and just really just turned against everything,” he said.
Serio told NBC10 it was ultimately his creative side that helped him heal.
“I’ve made numerous games. I've made television films,” he said.
Serio moved to Hollywood where he worked as a background actor. He also wrote a book.
“That’s really the only thing that I’ve used to survive this,” he said. “And I use my creativity as a rung to climb my way out of that pit that I put myself in.”
Years went by after the crash, lives moved on and new signs went up at the intersection where the accident occurred in order to prevent another tragedy. Yet there was still one more thing that Serio had to do. He had to visit Brandon’s gravesite.
Serio asked NBC10 to follow him as he went to his friend and teammate’s final resting place.
“Always remember. Always remember,” Serio said while fighting back tears. “Things happen sometimes. Planets collide.”
During the times in which he felt like giving up, Serio found ways to persevere.
“There’s a way out and it’s through yourself,” he said. “The obstacle is the way.”