Twitch streamer ‘Minister Zay’ hit by car during faith walk

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Thursday, April 30, 2026

Isaiah Thomas, a popular Christian streamer known online as Minister Zay or hmblzayy, who embarked on a 3,000-mile “faith walk” from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to California last month to raise money for at-risk youth and build a trade school, had his walk stalled on Tuesday after he was struck by a car in Indiana.

Thomas, who started his faith walk on March 26, was hit on the 34th day of what was expected to be a 100-day journey to raise $200,000 to start his HMBL University and the HMBL Summer Camp. The project is described as “a trade-based program designed for high school graduates who may not have the resources or desire to attend college but still deserve a real shot at success.”

The Christian streamer was reportedly recording his journey in Indiana when a vehicle rear-ended a Mazda that was following him. The Mazda struck Thomas and left him with a sprained ankle, bruising and a concussion, CBS News reported.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Office said the car that struck the Mazda was a silver Buick that was being driven by an 82-year-old with a minor in the passenger seat.  Both the driver and the minor were also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

“From the video that happened, they’re trying to figure out how I’m still alive,” Thomas said in a video shared on Instagram from the hospital. “The cop said, ‘I’m so happy that I’m looking at you like this and I’m not looking at you dead.’”

Thomas praised God for saving his life, declaring “God did it,” while insisting that he has no plans to give up on his faith walk, which has already raised more than $51,000 of his $200,000 goal, according to his GoFundMe campaign.

“A lot of people were joking, they thought it was a game, they think things was funny,” he said on Instagram. “I’m in the hospital. I’m not ending my trip. I made a promise to God, no matter what happens, I gotta finish it. I don’t care if I crawl to the finish line.”

He stated that he wants to continue with his faith walk after the crash to reflect resilience as a natural part of living a life of faith.

“Things in life is gonna get inconvenient. Things in life is gonna cause you to give up. It ain’t gonna be all happy and smiles and blessings and things like that,” he said.

Following his release from the hospital on Wednesday, Thomas told Fox 29 that he planned to restart his walk this weekend and reiterated his message of resilience.

“A lot of people are saying, like, this is a way out for me to quit, for me to give up. And I’m really just … showing people that, times get tough, things get tough,” Thomas said. “We all say we believe in God and walk in faith. But when times get hard, it’s moments like this where we give up.”