Vlog Squad member Jeff Wittek revealed he injured his eye while swinging from an excavator David Dobrik was controlling
YouTuber Jeff Wittek has finally revealed that he injured his eye while swinging from an excavator which was being controlled by David Dobrik, a YouTube star with more than 18 million followers who was at the helm of the Vlog Squad, the YouTuber collective that Wittek was part of.
The news comes after months of speculation, rumors, and hearsay about what actually happened. In June, 2020, Wittek wrote in an Instagram caption that he "got in an accident and broke my face and skull in a few places." The next posts showed the extent of the injuries, with multiple stitches on Wittek's face, and photos of him from a hospital bed wearing a neck brace.
Wittek has said he wanted to tell the story of what happened in his own time. On April 15, 2021, nearly 10 months after the accident, he published a trailer on YouTube for a docu-series called "Don't Try This At Home" and announced he would be explaining everything.
"It's as real as it gets," Wittek tweeted. "Definitely a new side of me that I'm not used to showing. So I really appreciate the amount of support from u guys. I can't tell u how much it means to me."
In the first episode, posted on April 18, Wittek said he had been keeping the truth of the accident a secret, and making up stories because, "I was in a lot of pain, and that's how I choose to cope with my pain."
The episode focused on Wittek's upbringing, revealing that he nearly went to prison for life on drug possession charges and how he met Dobrik and started getting involved with YouTube.
Part two of the documentary, titled "How I Broke My Face," was uploaded on Wednesday night and has already been viewed 1.4 million times. It showed more about the lead-up to the accident, including clips of Wittek and two friends and fellow Vlog Squad members, Natalie Noel and Todd Smith, learning to skydive. The trio then met up with the rest of the Vlog Squad at Bear Lake in Utah.
While performing stunts, one of the Vlog Squad members said: 'You take things too far'
Dobrik, in an interview in the documentary, said everyone was "pumped" to be filming vlogs again, as they had been on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
They got hold of an excavator — a type of tractor — to which dinghies and water boards were attached. The footage shows Vlog Squad members taking turns being pulled around by the excavator's arm.
In the narration, Wittek said he wanted to make a "funny video" so they started trying new ideas. YouTuber Corinna Kopf stepped onto the rope, and Dobrik began swinging the excavator's arm so it looked like she was flying through the air. However, the footage shows that Dobrik sped up and Kopf started swinging erratically, and shouted at him to let her down.
"You take things too far always," Kopf can be heard saying, before jumping back onto land. In a voiceover, Wittek said the comment was addressed at Dobrik.
Wittek then took the opportunity to climb onto the rope.
"I just jumped out of a plane 20 times, what's the worst that could happen if I swing from a rope over a one-foot deep lake?" Wittek said in the narration. "And yeah, I didn't know I was going to go that fast. So I grabbed the f---ing rope and I tried to make a goddamn funny video for people."
He added, "This was where I made a mistake. I forgot that the biggest f---ing idiot I know was driving it."
The dramatic footage of Wittek swinging around the excavator, which appeared to be taken from someone on the shore, showed him flying around in the air at high speed.
The camera then jumped to Dobrik's perspective, who says "Oh, s---."
The footage is not shown, but it seems Wittek flew into part of the excavator at high speed
A few clips showed Wittek face down in the water, and Vlog Squad members screaming and rushing to his aid.
The end of the video showed previews of the next installment of the documentary with to-camera interviews with some of the people who were there.
"Time literally slows down," Dobrik says, presumably of the accident. Smith said the whole side of Wittek's face was "just open."
Wittek doesn't explain exactly what happened in the latest episode, but based on what was shown it appears he flew into part of the excavator at high speed, bashing his face, after Dobrik lost control of how fast he was swinging.
The raw footage of the accident has been leaked on Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter a number of times since last summer, showing more clearly the extent of the force with which Wittek hit the excavator. Wittek reportedly commented on these videos, telling the posters to take them down, according to screenshots shared to imgur. He reportedly said the uncensored footage was "extremely traumatic" and he did not want his family to see it.
Vlog Squad controversy has ramped up interest in finding the truth about Wittek's accident
Footage circulated due to curiosity and Wittek's secrecy, but interest in the incident has also ramped up in the last month since the Vlog Squad has been embroiled in controversy.
One member, Jason Nash, was accused of sexual assault by former Vlog Squad member Seth Francois in February, who said he was kissed without consent as a "prank" while filming in 2017.
About a month later, a woman who appeared in a 2018 video for Dobrik's channel said she was raped by former member Dominykas Zeglaitis, better known as Durte Dom.
This generated a conversation about Dobrik, and the power dynamics at play when creating content as he was the apparent leader of the crew. Dobrik addressed these issues in his second apology video, which focused on the rape allegations.
Viewers have suggested that Dobrik may have put his friends in uncomfortable, unpleasant, or even dangerous situations for entertainment. Several clips have resurfaced since March, including Dobrik filming people without explicit concent, or pranking his peers with animals they are afraid of, for example.
Hundreds of comments on Wittek's video mention Dobrik and suggest they believe he was to blame.
The next episode of Wittek's documentary is set to show the extent of his injuries, and may reveal more about the current dynamic within the Vlog Squad after such a turbulent summer.
Insider has reached out to Wittek and Dobrik for comment.