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Mar 18, 2018; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; A view of the Houston Astros logo statue with the addition of the 2017 World Champions sign at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches prior to the spring training game between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Astros' Top Prospect Gains New Perspective After Recent Near-Death Experience

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI | By Jacob Moss | Last updated May 7, 2025 8:00 PM ET

Life can be a very fragile thing, and that's something that can be easy to forget as we all go about or day to day lives. For Houston Astros' Top 25 prospect Nehomar Ochoa Jr. this was also the case up until very recently. However, a recent near death experience has given him a new perspective on life that he didn't have before.

The accident that lended this change of view occurred on March 20 of this year. Ochoa was driving down I-95 in south Florida with his girlfriend, when all of a sudden an object came flying out of nowhere and struck Ochoa in the head.

The object in question was a seven-pound hook that had flown off the trailer of a truck in front of him and lodged itself into Ochoa's head. The 19-year-old prospect recently sat down with MLB.com's Kenny Van Doren to recount the harrowing experience, and what was going through his mind as he raced to the nearest hospital.

"That's when I really panicked," Ochoa said. "The hook was in my head, and out of nowhere, I just started bleeding from my nose. I probably have an internal bleeding."

The injury was serious, but thankfully Ochoa's girlfriend was able to get him to medical attention quickly, and doctor's were able to stabilize the condition, and a CT scan revealed that the hook had left a fracture above his right sinus.

The #Astros are showcasing their best and brightest young talent next week during Spring Breakout.

But Nehomar Ochoa Jr. might be the most athletic of the bunch.

More on the 2023 draftee, who is "pretty excited" for the spotlight: https://t.co/QKnNl4qDnD pic.twitter.com/xkuw3rwAfJ
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 8, 2025

While this was still a very serious accident, Ochoa told Van Doren the CT scan also revealed that the hook had actually hit him in the best possible place.

"Doctors told me that two inches down, and I would have completely lost my eye," Ochoa said. "And two inches to my left, and I would have died on the spot. If it would have hit me like an inch further behind to my right side, it would have knocked me out cold, and at the speed that I was coming, I would have definitely got into a crash. It hit me on the perfect spot."

It's been over a month now since the accident, and Ochoa is well on his way to a full recovery. As for the driver who was responsible for the hook flying through his windshield, he was never found. Ochoa isn't holding onto to any grudges though, as the whole ordeal has offered him a new view on what's really important.

"I'm just glad I'm alive, really," Ochoa said. "I know he didn't mean for that to happen. I know he didn't try to cause any harm to anyone. It just happened, but could he have stopped and checked up on me or called the police or got an ambulance? Yes, absolutely... "You never know what people think whenever they're under pressure. So I don't hold on to hate. I hope everything goes good for him, and hopefully, it doesn't happen to anybody else."

Ochoa has learned to forgive the man responsible, and he's also held onto to the hook that nearly killed him as a reminder of how fragile life can be. It is this new perspective that he will bring with him as looks to make his 2025 debut in the near future.