Christopher Purvis, music teacher at Osan Middle High School, Osan Air Base, South Korea, seen here Feb. 13, 2026, is recovering from injuries he suffered when a suspected drunken driver struck him and two others in a Dallas crosswalk on Dec. 18, 2025. (Christopher Purvis)
A music teacher at a Defense Department school in South Korea returned to the classroom this week, two months after he, his brother and a friend were seriously injured while crossing a Dallas street en route to an NBA game.
Christopher Purvis is back at work at Osan Middle High School at Osan Air Base, he said by email Tuesday. He still undergoes physical therapy for multiple fractures in his hip, back, ribs, legs, right knee and face, he said by email Friday.
Purvis spent 1½ months recovering in Texas before returning to South Korea on Jan. 30, he said by email to Stars and Stripes that day. He expects to be “back to normal” by June, he said Friday.
“Being the victim of a drunk driver hit-and-run is something I would never wish on anyone,” Purvis said “But this new chapter has given me a deeper appreciation for the small things I often took for granted — walking, moving freely, feeling strong. Those ‘small’ things are everything and one that I appreciate dearly these days.”
His brother Cody Purvis may need more than two years to recover from his injuries, Christopher Purvis said Friday.
“My brother shattered his pelvis and hip,” he said. “He suffered a traumatic brain injury.”
Cody Purvis’ right knee ligaments also were torn and his right ankle shattered, his brother said. Cody required 20 hours of reconstructive surgery.
“His memory is slowly improving, and we have been told that he is expected to regain complete thought in the months to come,” Christopher Purvis said.
Their friend Adrian Cervantes suffered torn ligaments and may require physical therapy for a year, Purvis said.
A GoFundMe campaign launched by Purvis’ Army buddy Harmon Dobson to defray medical expenses — Chris, Cody, and Adrian’s Road to Recovery — had collected $26,396 toward a $30,000 goal as of Tuesday.
Christopher Purvis was home for his father, Michael Purvis’, funeral when he and the two others met Dec. 18 for a Dallas Mavericks basketball game, he said.
At 7:25 p.m., they started across the street about a block from the American Airlines Center, the Mavericks’ homecourt, according to Christopher Purvis and Dallas Police.
Just then, driver Giovanni Perez, 30, collided with another car near the crosswalk, according to a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes on Jan. 15 by police spokesman Corbin Rubinson.
“Once it turned green, I remember taking about four steps, then everything went black,” Christopher Purvis said Friday. “I came to rocking back and forth on a curb for about 10 seconds and all went black again.”
Christopher Purvis, music teacher at Osan Middle High School, Osan Air Base, South Korea, seen here in South Korea on Feb. 14, 2026, returned to teaching two months after a traffic collision seriously injured him and two other people in Dallas. (Purvis family)
A video camera caught the scene, he said.
It shows Perez’s car hitting another vehicle and then the three men in the crosswalk, according to Purvis. “I flew about 20 feet upon impact, Adrian flew and hit a wall, and Cody fell around where we were struck,” he said by email Friday.
Perez, 30, was charged with multiple felonies, including drunken driving causing serious injury and related offenses, according to police.
“My life changed in an instant,” Purvis said.
Donations and support from Texas, Osan and the Army’s Camp Humphreys in South Korea, “reminded us how deeply surrounded we are by community,” he said. “The outpouring of generosity and encouragement from every season of my life has been humbling.”