The Tragic Accident That Put Texas Governor Greg Abbott In A Wheelchair

Greg Abbott became the Republican governor of Texas in 2014, and he's held the position ever since. He beat challenger Beto O'Rourke in 2022 — and could someday face Matthew McConaughey for the governorship. But so far, he's kept a strong hold on the job, and in doing so, Abbott has shown himself to be a staunch Donald Trump supporter. He was even named as a potential vice presidential candidate for Trump in 2024, and he's been floated as a possible 2028 Republican presidential contender. But while Abbott's political career has largely been successful, his personal life has included tragedy. Abbott is in a wheelchair after having had an accident at the age of 26.

Here's what happened. Abbott and his wife had moved to Houston after he graduated law school in 1984.  Abbott was out on a run in his new town in July when a 75-foot-tall oak tree fell on him. "The pain was excruciating," Abbott said, "it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my back," he explained, via YouTube. He had multiple broken vertebrae and other internal damage, and he was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Greg Abbott sued the owner of the tree along with the last company that had inspected it, and he won a multimillion dollar settlement that has paid out over years. But even a sizable settlement, which has gone to helping with medical expenses, couldn't reverse the damage.

"Money doesn't heal anything. Money doesn't allow me to walk," Abbott said. "It doesn't allow me to dance with my wife. It doesn't allow me to pick up my daughter. It doesn't allow me to walk my daughter down the aisle when she gets married. If you could name the person I could write the check to, I'd send all this money right back if I could walk again," he further lamented, according to the Texas Tribune.

Some have argued that Abbott's work as Texas attorney general, a role he had before he was governor, helped prevent others facing similar injuries from getting similar payouts. Abbott has denied that. The injury has been used as a part of his election campaigns, showing him as an example of someone who can persevere through devastating hardship.