SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Joe Pasqualini was dead for several minutes on a snowy night almost seven years ago.

Pasqualini, now 27, and his brother Eddie were hit by a drunken driver while walking near their father’s house in the township on Jan. 18, 2009.

Pasqualini suffered severe spinal cord and brain injuries and also has brain damage from the brief time that he stopped breathing.

He was revived and flown to Allegheny General Hospital that night. Later he went to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

The prognosis was not good. He was in a coma that doctors said he might never come out of, and if he did, he would probably never walk again, let alone be able to breathe on his own or have conscious thoughts.

But in what his family calls a miracle, Pasqualini did pull through. While his quality of life will never be like it was before the accident, he has consistently made progress, his father Jim Pasqualini said.

“I thank God every day because I know Joe shouldn’t be here today. The fact that he is here is divine intervention. It is just nothing short of a miracle,” his father said.

Pasqualini was honored last week with the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyer’s Association Comeback Award.

The award is an annual honor given to a person, often someone who had a serious injury, who has overcome adversity and whose story is an inspiration, said Jason Schiffman, the attorney who nominated Joe for the award. He represented the family following the accident.

“The Comeback Award is a celebration of the incredible strength of the human spirit to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to adapt to a new life,” Schiffman said.

“Joe Pasqualini and his family are a living testament to the power of optimism and tireless hard work to persevere even when it may seem hopeless,” he said.

Pasqualini was recognized Nov. 11 at a banquet in Pittsburgh.

In addition to being honored, he got to pick a charitable cause to receive a $1,000 donation on his behalf. His family picked Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Team, Jim said.

Both EMTs and firefighters from Slippery Rock responded to the accident and were responsible for reviving Pasqualini.

Though he has no memory of the accident, he understands what happened and has expressed gratitude for the work of the emergency responders.

When given an opportunity to address the crowd at the WPTLA banquet, he was a little overwhelmed, but did say a short thank you, according to his father.

“‘I want to thank everybody here tonight, and I want to thank you that were there that night and saved me,’” he said.

In 2009, Pasqualini was attending a community college in Virginia, but was staying in Slippery Rock Township with his father that weekend. They planned to watch the Steelers take on the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game. The accident occurred early on the morning of the game.

Though the family has made Slippery Rock their permanent home for the past seven years, Pasqualini grew up in Virginia and for his final two years of high school lived in Vienna, Austria, while his father was stationed there with the army.

His father later bought the house in Slippery Rock Township, having grown up in Pittsburgh. He planned to retire in Slippery Rock, but he still had an apartment in Virginia, and his former wife, Joe’s mother, also lived in Virginia.

Now the three of them live in the house together, which has been renovated to be accessible for Pasqualini. He receives care and assistance from a nurse during the day.

Today, there is a lot that Pasqualini cannot do, but what he is able to do is more than the family ever anticipated, based on what they were told by doctors.

He cannot walk on his own, using a wheelchair much of the time, and cannot eat on his own. He gets his food through a feeding tube.

However, he is able to move both his arms and both his legs and he can chew and eat a little bit of food, mostly just to enjoy the taste.

His long-term memories are mainly intact, though he often struggles with short-term memory.

Despite the damage done to his brain, he can speak, in both English and German, and can think and reason. He can recall trivia well and enjoys playing along with the TV show “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader,” his father said.

Earlier this year, Pasqualini went to Boston where he participated in Project Walk, a specialized recovery program to help people suffering from paralysis.

“He makes progress all the time in therapy sessions. Every day is slow and continuous improvement,” his father said.

Though Pasqualini still needs to have someone assist him at all times, he is able to go out and do activities like boating at Moraine State Park and attending Pittsburgh Pirates games.

Jim Pasqualini said he hopes his son’s story can inspire people, but it is also serves as a reminder to the dangers of drunken driving.

“The other person made the wrong decision. His decision affected Joey for the rest of his life. There’s nothing wrong with having fun, just don’t drive,” he said. “Make the right decision.”