Austin machete attack survivor thanks people who rushed to his aid
AUSTIN, Texas - From his ICU hospital room, 19-year-old Seth Gott spoke about his slow recovery from an all too real nightmare.
"It definitely felt unreal, almost just like a crazy dream," said Gott.
The attack happened Tuesday morning along the hiking trail at Austin’s Auditorium Shores. Investigators say a man got up from a bench as Seth walked by and blindsided him with a machete.
"I wasn't really sure what it was. It definitely didn't feel like I was getting sliced with a machete," said Gott, a pretty surprising statement he admitted.
"You would expect it to hurt a lot more than it did. It really didn't hurt at all. At the moment, it felt sort of like just getting hit with a blunt stick. It didn't feel like I was getting cut open," said Gott.
Disbelief and then shock.
"It took me a while. Probably not until the third time he hit me with it. Until I realized that. Oh, this is a machete that he's attacking me with. This is real," said Gott.
Seth repeatedly begged the man attacking him to stop, but the strikes continued.
According to court documents, Ashton Kaine Talley, the alleged attacker, is from Kyle and took an Uber to the park. He was captured near the Seaholm district and gave investigators a rambling excuse for his actions. He got upset after he claims someone bumped into him and witnesses say the attack was unprovoked.
Police were also told the machete Talley used was thrown into Lady Bird Lake when he crossed the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge.
The attack on Seth nearly cut off his left hand, smashed his right hand, and left deep cuts on his face, head and legs. On Thursday, Seth showed FOX 7 Austin how doctors reattached his hand and are in the process of repairing his fingers.
The recovery is all possible because people ran to his aid and stopped the bleeding. Seth’s mother, Dusty Colquitt, has been at his side since flying from her home in North Dakota.
"I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Like there are no words to describe just how grateful I am that there are such kind people. And for them to just rush to aid him, and stop the bleeding. And they saved his life. I don't know what else to say except just, thank you," said Colquitt.
A GoFundMe site has been set up to help pay for medical expenses.
"There are no words that exist in any dictionary that can express my gratitude to the people, especially the people who were there, who weren't trained doctors who didn't have any obligation to help me, who put their lives on the line to save mine, who did everything in their power to not only keep me alive, but, they kept me believing that I would survive. They didn't let me. I was so afraid that I was going to die in that moment. But they kept me sane," said Gott.
The attack, according to both mother and son, is an example of the need for better mental health care. He gave another surprising answer when asked if he had any animosity towards Talley.
"I think I'm not happy that he did it, but I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't call him an evil person, because I don't think that there are any evil people. I think that whatever happened to this man that made him want to do this must have been pretty horrific. Probably worse than getting attacked with a machete, because in my experience, it hasn't been that bad," said Gott.
Seth Gott is a student at ACC and is studying biotech. Doctors have told him there is a good chance he will regain full use of his hands.
Ashton Talley is charged with two counts of aggravated assault. Bond was set at a little more than a million dollars.