Matt Hardy, one of the victims in the December 1st crash on the Northway, speaks publicly for the first time. Our Madeleine Rivera sat down with Hardy and his family and has more on what they had to say.

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CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. -- Matthew Hardy said, “I'm getting rest. I'm sitting in my chair. I like the company.”

At his home, surrounded by gifts from well-wishers, Matthew Hardy looks relaxed.

“I'm recovering pretty fast, I think,” Hardy said.

Strong spirits for the 17-year-old Shenendehowa High School junior who was hurt in a car crash that killed two of his friends and left another injured a few weeks ago.

“I don't remember a lot of it,” Hardy said. “I just remember hanging. Half my body was hanging in the car, half my body was hanging out the car and I was just praying.”

Hardy's girlfriend, Deanna Rivers, and friend, Chris Stewart, were killed in the accident. Stewart's girlfriend, Bailey Wind, was released from the hospital last week.

Hardy says he and Wind will have to make it through the grieving process together. He says he texts Wind every day to talk about Chris and Deanna.

“Deanna was just a great girl. When I saw her, I just knew that she was a good girl. And I just wish she was still here,” Hardy said. “Chris was a good captain. He worked hard.”

It's an accident that's touched the lives of many in the Capital Region and beyond.

Hardy said, “The support, it was just crazy. And again that all the schools around the area would be united like that.”

Even gaining the attention of a big time football player who Hardy has admired for a long time.

Hardy said, “My best friend, Brandon, came in with his phone and said, ‘Matt, someone's on the phone. He wants to talk to you.’ And I took the phone and I was like, ‘hello?’ And, he was like, ‘Hi, Matt, it's Tim Tebow.’”

Hopeful moments in the hardships, despite what he's been through, Hardy keeps his strong faith and wants to return to playing sports next year.

“I probably want to be ready for like the summer. Like during football workouts and basketball and baseball and all that good stuff,” he said.

And as for thoughts on Dennis Drue, the man State Police say caused the crash?

“I want to meet him and tell him that it could have been anybody and I just want him to know that I forgive him,” Hardy said.

Raw interview

Shen crash victim Matt Hardy is speaking about the accident that took the life of his teammate and his girlfriend and left him seriously injured. Below is a portion of the interview.

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