January 8, 2026 — While still inside the overturned truck, Bin Sulaiman had no idea his neck was broken. He had been buckled in and asleep with his head against the window of the passenger seat, resting for the day ahead to help a cousin move. Bin woke up to the realization that the truck was hydroplaning off the interstate. His cousin’s husband had been driving in heavy rain. The truck spun in the grass, hit a ditch, and flipped onto the passenger side, coming to rest in standing water. Bin’s head had hit hard against the window. When smoke began filling the cab of the truck, it was time to find a way out. Still unaware that his neck was broken.

“I had to climb up and over the center console and out of the driver’s side window,” Bin said recently, detailing the accident. “I have Life360 on my phone, and it has auto crash detection. When I didn't answer my phone, it called my mother, saying that I might have been in a car accident and that police and paramedics were on the way.”

Less than 24 hours earlier, Bin had been celebrating a Friday night football win with his Campbell Spartans teammates. At that point, he still had the promise of his senior wrestling season in front of him and was in the midst of campaigning for senior class president. However, after the overnight drive to Savannah ended in an accident that broke Bin’s neck, everything was put on pause.

“When I hit my head hard on the window,” Bin explained, “I ended up with a serious concussion, and I broke my C1 vertebrae next to the vertebral artery that connects to my brain.”

The Injury and the Odds

The C1 vertebra is located at the base of the skull, and the vertebral artery carries blood from the heart to the brain. A fracture or break of the C1 vertebrae often leads to quadriplegia or breathing issues requiring ventilation, according to the National Institutes of Health. In some cases, a C1 break can be fatal if the vertebral artery is severed.

“Doctors told me that it was a clean break where the C1 broke out instead of in,” Bin recalled. “If it had broken inwards, I would have died in less than a minute. They said I was extremely lucky to be alive and that I was only going to have to be in a neck brace for three to five months.”

It was a miracle, and he was thankful. Yet, in the days immediately after the accident, Bin struggled with the realization that his high school football and wrestling career had likely come to an end. He had developed an extended family in both sports, and missing out on his senior year of wrestling was particularly difficult. As a junior, Bin had won individual meet titles and qualified for the state tournament, and some early state rankings had him in the top 10 for his weight class. 

“Tenacious” is how Campbell assistant coach Drinon Mays described Bin. “I don’t want to use words that sound cliché, but in this case, the word completely fits. Combine that with his intelligence, knowing when to make the right move and why, and it makes for a very successful wrestler. It is extremely hard to make it to state as a wrestler, and Bin did it in his junior year.”

That tenacity became essential during recovery, as Bin’s mother, Talela Belue, watched her son navigate his new reality.

“Bin doesn’t run from a challenge,” she said proudly. “Watching him go through this accident and his recovery has been truly inspiring. While he dealt with his physical recovery, he was also dealing with his emotions around understanding the gravity of his injury.”

Choosing Resilience

At first, Bin struggled with his new circumstances. Ultimately, he relied on lessons from sports to adapt.

“Something that my coaches say that I try to live by,” Bin noted, “is that nobody can break you except yourself. I decided that I wasn't going to let anything that I've been working towards be degraded because of what happened in an accident.”

Bin poured himself into serving his teammates on the football field and on the wrestling mat by becoming a committed team manager. Cheering, encouraging, and even coaching his teammates allowed him to continue being a part of the teams he loved. Taking on the tasks of team laundry and gym clean-up sent a more profound message.

“I think it sets a really good example,” Campbell wrestling coach Rudolph Armocida said. “We always talk about how tough life can be and how it’s up to you to decide what you do from there. It means a lot to the team that he is there to help. The younger wrestlers get to see that our commitment to ‘Team Above Self’ isn’t just words; it really means something.”

Bin’s football coach has also felt his impact.

“He’s someone who left a lasting mark on all of us,” Campbell football coach Jeffery Phillips said. “He carried a quiet confidence that grew stronger. It wasn’t loud or attention-seeking. It was steady, calm, and powerful. The team respected him because he earned it through his actions, not his voice.”

Bin ultimately won the election for senior class president. He also serves as the band council president, plays the bassoon and tenor sax, volunteers on the Anti-Bullying Council, and works with Sources of Strength, a student mental health awareness program. In addition to all that, Bin is a member of the National Honor Society and actively mentors younger students at Campbell.

Campbell Principal Paul Gillihan has been impressed by the way Bin has overcome the accident.

“Bin has always been a very driven and focused young man,” Mr. Gillihan shared. “The accident has pointed his attention more into his leadership opportunities as well as service areas. It has not stopped his drive. It just moved him toward another path and direction.”

A New Purpose

In that way, Bin reframed his accident and injury as opportunities for a new purpose.

“I believe everything happens for a reason,” he said recently. “I believe that this happened to give me a different opportunity to grow. I feel like this experience has pushed me to my extremes to become more resilient. That's what wrestling did for me originally. It pushed me to where I was uncomfortable both physically and mentally. But that helped me grow. The accident also did that. It pushed me to become better than what I was, so that I'm able to be stronger for me and my family.”

In the end, what broke Bin Sulaiman’s neck didn’t break his will. It simply accelerated the leader he was becoming and fueled a deeper sense of purpose, inspiring others to face their own challenges with resilience and determination. 

h/t non-branded photos provided by Bin's family