‘Love & Hip Hop’ Star Apple Watts Admits She Was ‘Buzzed’ When She Had Near-Fatal Car Crash That Left Her In Coma For 4 Months

Reality star Apple Watts has bravely shared that her 2022 car accident was the result of her drinking and driving and has issued a warning to other drivers not to follow her example.

Watts, whose real name is Jontelle Layaye Watts, is a reality television star, model, dancer and singer who became famous after appearing on season five of Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood. She was also featured as a dancer in music videos for notable artists such as Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla $ign and Chris Brown.

In March 2022, Watts was hospitalized after a near-fatal accident with a Ford F250 pickup truck in Baker, California. The collision reportedly saw her car flip over several times and burst into flames, and Watts sustained a shattered spine, fractured skull, and a broken arm. She was quickly airlifted to University Medical Center and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. 

In conversation with Mark Laita on his YouTube channel Soft White Underbelly, Watts explained, “What happened was I was a little buzz, but it was hours later. Because I was buzzed before, I got lost. When I was just an hour away from home. Then I guess I fell asleep, and then I ran into a car that type of truck that brings a new car to another car lot. I ran into that truck, and I guess I was going 90 miles per hour.”

She continued, “My car, it crashed and it must have flew off the road and I flew through the window, and I went unconscious and then my car caught on fire. Everything I had was just everywhere.”

Watts had life-saving surgery and was unresponsive in a coma for four months, leaving the possibility of her recovery in question. Her family finally announced that she was capable of beginning to regain her balance and speech.

Next to Laita, Watts warned other drivers, “I used to drink and drive a lot, and I used to go to sleep and then wake up the next day so that’s what it was like. But not this time. This time I thought it was the next day, I didn’t know four months later. It’s crazy but I’ll never do it again – plus I ain’t got no license.”

Watts’ injuries have left her incapable of returning to her previous career. She said, “I used to sing, now I can’t sing. My voice was never like this. I took looks for granted, I took everything for granted. But I am grateful for everything. I’m grateful when I wake up, I’m grateful when I take a nap, I’m grateful about everything I think a lot of people take for granted.”