Uptown carjacking, shooting victim released from ICU after more than two months, enters rehab

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - After spending more than two months in the ICU, Scott Toups knows what it means to fight for survival, and to prevail against all odds.

Toups was shot twice and carjacked Uptown, by a suspect police say had escaped from the troubled juvenile detention facility in Bridge City on July 17. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Since that fateful July day, Toups has struggled for his life: multiple surgeries, 24-hour dialysis, cardiac arrests and a ventilator.

“There was something new every day that was putting his life at risk, and he managed to battle through it all,” said his wife, Stacie Toups.

Two-and-a-half months later, Scott was released from the ICU at University Medical Center, and relocated to another hospital for rehab.

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Finally, after an arduous wait, Stacie said her husband is awake, alert, talking and breathing on his own.

“What I see now is.. I see my husband now,” Stacie Toups said. “He’s talking to me, his voice is back, he’s still a little cranky sometimes.”

“It’s been an emotional journey,” Scott Toups told FOX 8 in an exclusive interview on his road to recovery.

Scott doesn’t remember much of that day, but he said three doctors were close by when the carjacking and shooting happened. They performed CPR, he said, crediting them with saving his life.

The next step in his journey would take place in the ICU, where his wife stood by his side.

“Soon as I woke my eyes up, everyone was saying how great it was to see me awake and conscious,” he said. “That’s when the emotions started.. how long I had been in there. This guy did a number on me.”

The shooting had taken place while Scott was taking Mardi Gras beads to be recycled, on Nashville and Loyola. Scott is a member of Krewe of Toth, and has a deep love for New Orleans.

This week, he was moved from UMC to another local hospital to begin rehab.

“They’re doing a great job trying to get me rehabilitated,” he said. “But it’s been so long since I used my legs, that it’s taken me a lot longer to get to walking status again.”

“He has turned a corner. A major one,” Stacie said. “Scott has had a chance now to say things that he didn’t say before. The ‘I love you’s,’ the ‘I appreciate yous,’ the things that he felt but didn’t say before he got shot. He’s had the chance to do that now.. and that makes a massive difference in anyone’s life.”

A Special Grand Jury indicted Kendell Myles, 17, and Kayla Smith, 16, on Thurs., Sept. 15 on charges related to the carjacking and shooting of 59-year-old Toups. Myles was indicted for attempted second-degree murder and armed robbery, among other charges. Smith was indicted on two armed robbery charges.

Stacie and Scott both thanked the community for the outpouring of support they have received over the past couple months.

“Thank you to everyone who has sent prayers or donated anything or sent a card, and there’s been so many,” Stacie said. “From his Mardi Gras krewe, his old high school De La Salle, people who knew him from his old neighborhood across the river.. just a massive thank you. I just want to hug all of you at once.”

It will be a long road to recovery, and Scott’s life is changed forever. But he’s grateful to be alive, and has a message to send.

“Somebody comes up to you with a gun, just give them what they want,” he said. “If somebody comes up to you and asks you for your damn keys, just give it to them. The car is not worth it. You can always get another car. It’s not worth getting shot over.”

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