YouTuber nearly blinded by harrowing ocean stunt undergoes death-defying five-hour procedure to get vision back

YouTuber Jeff Wittek underwent a five-hour operation to correct his vision after he was seriously injured in a social media stunt more than four years ago.

Wittek, 34, was seen holding on to a rope hanging from the raised arm of a rotating excavator, which popular content creator David Dobrik was driving, in the since-deleted video recorded in June 2020.

As a result of that incident going wrong, Wittek was forced to pay out $90,000 for the procedure performed by Dr. Leif Rogers, a plastic surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California.

On an Instagram afterWittek shared before, during and after photos of the surgery, including one of him posing with Dr. Rogers.

‘Yesterday Dr. Leif Rogers and his team of avengers performed a massive five-hour operation to remove some metal plates and move my eyes forward a few millimeters to hopefully restore my double vision,” the influencer wrote to his 2.5 million Instagram followers .

“Thank you for all the kind words and support from all of you,” he added.

“I already feel like I could run through a brick wall.”

The excavator video became a huge controversy for Dobrik, who had reportedly refused to pay Wittek’s medical bills.

Wittek suffered these injuries after swinging onto the arm of an excavator for a video by David Dobrik, filmed in June 2020

In the video, Dobrik appeared to have control of the excavator as he spun around the machine on the water, but when it accelerated he lost control.

As the vehicle suddenly slowed and came to a stop, Wittek was seen hitting his metal arm and falling into the water below, where he was left dangling from the rope by his still tangled leg.

After the incident, Wittek said his skull was crushed in nine places, he broke his foot and hip, tore a ligament in his leg and almost lost his eye.

He has since posted on social media that he is still suffering from the fallout from the prank.

Wittek is now suing Dobrik for “general negligence and intentional tort” as he seeks $10 million in damages for the prankster’s stunt.

He has claimed that Dobrik’s actions caused him to rack up hospital bills for extensive surgeries and caused him to miss work. TMZ.

It is also alleged that the stunt was Dobrik’s idea and that his operation of the excavator led to Wittek’s serious injuries.

The suit stated that the original idea for the stunt was to place the excavator in the water and then pull people across the surface on wakeboards and other objects.

Wittek is depicted swinging on the excavator Dobrik was operating as bystanders look on

David Dobrik, left, has previously emphasized that the crane stunt was Wittek’s idea. Wittek disputes this and has taken Dobrik to court

Wittek claimed that after a few takes of the original plan, Dobrik suggested that people hold the rope themselves while he swung them around through the excavator.

During his turn, Wittek claimed Dobrik noticed he was starting to spin the excavator too fast and suddenly slowed down to compensate, causing Wittek to collide directly with the machine’s arm.

Yet Dobrik has previously insisted that the crane stunt was Wittek’s idea, and that he asked Dobrik to promise never to tell anyone.

“I think one of the main reasons why Jeff is disappointed with me right now is because he saw me do an interview where I said something that I promised him I would keep between us,” Dobrik said on his podcast VIEWS in March 2022. ‘ He’s angry that I broke a promise.’

“He said, ‘Can you promise me one thing? Can you just promise me that no one will ever know this was my idea?’

“He got hurt because I was driving,” Dobrik said, “That’s it, and I fucking know it, and like I said, any chance I got, I would take it back.

‘That will be the biggest regret of my life. My whole life. I really hope there is no moment I regret as much as that one moment.’

Wittek also spoke out in May, after Dobrik signed a deal with Snapchat to post his content exclusively.

Dobrik has had other controversies, including allegedly filming a sexual assault that he posted online

Wittek also connected with Dobrik, another hugely popular YouTuber, when he signed a deal with Snapchat to post his content exclusively in May.

“Yooo @Snapchat you’re paying a man who smashed my skull in for a prank and left me with lifelong injuries,” he posted on X.

‘He also filmed and organized several sexual attacks. That’s why I stopped posting. I don’t want his blood money.’

When Snapchat asked for more information, Wittek responded, “His name is @DavidDobrik and he travels the world partying on your dime. While I have to undergo another operation next month.’

The sexual assault case involved a woman who came forward in 2021 claiming that a member of Dobrik’s Vlog Squad raped her in 2018 while she was involved in a threesome – which Dobrik filmed and posted online.

The woman told Business Insider she was too drunk to give consent to vlogger Dom Zeglaitis, and she was raped.

In response, Dobrik released a video saying he “completely believed in it”[d] the woman who spoke out against Dom and said she was sexually assaulted and raped by him.”

Dobrik (pictured with Taylor Lautner) announced that he stopped filming with vlogger Dom Zeglaitis in 2019

He then claimed that he had received permission from the woman to post the video in 2018, but acknowledged that he “should never have posted it” and apologized.

The video, which had five million views, was subsequently deleted. according to NBC News.

In another follow-up video, Dobrik said he had stopped filming with Zeglaitis in 2019, and announced he would be stepping away from social media to build a “checks and balances” system in which “people communicate discomfort in a way that is comfortable for them.

“It doesn’t feel good to go back to posting like I used to, and it doesn’t feel good to go into the dark because I love what I do, but I think it’s important to show that change is possible and that I’m learning that maybe even forgiveness is possible,” he said in the video.

“I want to take this opportunity to step up and face my mistakes,” Dobrik said at the time. “This is my beginning to an end, and I’m sorry to anyone that I hurt.”