The guitarist of an American rock band whose tour bus fell 30ft from a viaduct near Bath says no one can believe the group survived the crash.
Baroness band member John Baizley was on board the coach when it smashed through a safety barrier on August 30.
When the bus hit the ground 10m below, he "flew like a missile" into the windscreen, breaking his left arm and leg.
"We had spent enough time in the air to appreciate, make peace with and accept a fate we thought inevitable, and we looked at one another with a horribly silent goodbye in our eyes," Mr Baizley said.
"There was one moment in the crash that cut me deeply. For one heartbeat and one tiny sliver of time, I became disconnected entirely. It was, specifically, the moment I impacted with the glass.
"I didn't see a light or a tunnel or hear any music. Nor did I get a 'best-of' montage of my life."
The crash happened as the band, from Savannah, Georgia, travelled from Bristol to a gig in Southampton.
There were nine people on board the tour bus when its brakes failed on Brassknocker Hill.
After demolishing a crash barrier at the junction with the A36, the bus ploughed through dozens of trees before coming to a rest close to a canal.
Speaking for the first time about the crash, Mr Baizley told the band's website: "When the moment passed and I heard the screaming, felt the pain, I was overcome with joy.
"I was ecstatic to be back amidst all that chaos and horror because it was alive and real."
Mr Baizley spent eight hours on an operating table while surgeons rebuilt his arm using two titanium plates and 20 screws.
He will need to use a wheelchair for several weeks but has now returned to the United States and has already started playing the guitar again.
"I can say that, after nearly six weeks of reflection, I feel more resolute and passionate about our music than ever," he said.
