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A teenage construction worker from the US state of Montana has been left almost entirely limbless after a freak forklift accident.

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Loren Schauers, 18, was working at a site about two and a half hours from his home in late October when the accident happened.

He was operating a forklift, which he says he was not certified to do, through the site when he saw a car barreling towards him.

Thinking it would come to a stop before any collision, he continued.

The car, however, did not stop and ploughed into him, sending him and the forklift sprawling down a gravel mound.

Loren Schauers' legs and left forearm were amputated as a result of a nightmare forklift accident. Credit: GoFundMe

Recounting the ordeal in a YouTube video, he says he was completely conscious as he rolled down the hill.

"I looked to my right and saw my forearm laying right next to me in the dirt," he said.

"I had to lay there for about 10 or 15 minutes because they had to get another machine down the hill to lift the forklift off me."

The forklift had crushed him from the pelvis down, he said.

He arrived in hospital where doctors put him under anaesthesia.

When he woke up, he had been amputated from the waist down and had lost his left hand.

The last-resort procedure is called a Hemicorporectomy amputation.

Acceptance

"My mental health is good, I've accepted the accident since day one because I'd seen my limbs at the accident and in the emergency room up until they put the anaesthesia mask on me to make me pass out."

He was told he would die a month after the surgery.

That was two months ago, and Loren continues to survive.

Sabia and Loren have been detailing the recovery on viral video app TikTok. Credit: mistral_01 / TikTok

The driver of the other car sped off, so may never be brought to justice.

That doesn't concern Loren and his girlfriend Sabia Reiche, who are preparing to enter the next phase of their lives.

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"We feel great," Loren said.

"At least we have another chance at it, so that's why I feel great because even after the surgery they suspected I was going to die and not be able to go home."

The couple is hoping to return home to Montana on January 13, which happens to be Sabia's 21st birthday.

A GoFundMe to help cover Loren's expenses, including medical bills, has so far raised more than $US36,000 ($52,000).

He and Sabia say there is a legal process underway with his employers for long-term compensation, though that may take months.