“Big Hoss” needs a helping hand. Corey Harrison, the beloved star from Pawn Stars, is turning to fans for financial support after a devastating motorcycle crash in Mexico left him with over $130,000 in medical bills and nearly drained his savings. The 42-year-old reality TV personality has been struggling to recover, both physically and financially, since the January 23 accident near his home in Tulum.
A GoFundMe campaign launched by Harrison’s friend and former Pawn Stars co-worker Aron Chambers aims to raise $18,000 to cover the star’s mounting expenses. As of now, the fundraiser has collected just over $1,200 of its goal. The campaign description paints a harrowing picture of Harrison’s ordeal, revealing that he emptied his entire bank account to cover initial medical costs and is now three months behind on rent.
Harrison was involved in a motorcycle collision in Tulum on January 23 that left him with catastrophic injuries: 11 fractures in his rib cage, shoulder compression fractures in his neck, a punctured lung, internal bleeding, a concussion, and cuts requiring 10 stitches in his hand. Despite the severity, he initially spent only three nights in a Playa del Carmen hospital before checking out early due to rising costs.
That decision nearly cost him his life. Within hours of returning to his Tulum home, Harrison was in excruciating pain. A house doctor administered IV fluids and morphine, a difficult choice for Harrison, who lost his brother Adam to an overdose just last year and was hesitant to take heavy pain medication. The next day, his oxygen levels plummeted dangerously low.
“New X-rays at the Mérida hospital revealed the full extent of the damage: one rib had completely separated and was pressing into his lung,” the GoFundMe page details. “Surgeons drained nearly three liters of blood from his chest cavity”.
Harrison underwent three life-saving surgeries and spent an additional 18 days hospitalized in Mérida. By the time he was stabilized and discharged, total medical costs had skyrocketed past $100,000, with some reports now placing the figure at $130,000.
“I’ve had a lot of money, but it’s not like I could film right now. It’s not like I can really do any work,” Harrison told reporters. “It’s gonna take eight months to get better”.
Without health insurance and unable to work, Harrison’s financial situation has become dire. He currently has just $400 in his bank account and is in debt to friends and family who loaned him money during the crisis. “What am I going to do, fly out to Vegas and sell stuff? I can’t move from my recliner,” he told TMZ.
The crash had an emotional toll as well. Harrison was forced to miss his father Rick Harrison’s destination wedding to Agripina “Angie” Polushkin, held January 26 at Le Blanc Spa Resort in Cancun, just days after the accident.
“It sucks that he didn’t attend,” Rick told Fox News. “I wanted him to be there. He was one of my groomsmen”. Fortunately, Rick was able to visit Corey in the hospital the day before his wedding, as his son was recovering just a few hours from Cancun.
Rick described Corey’s condition at the time: “He’s in good spirits, and he’s just going, like, ‘The next two months are going to suck.’ You know, it’s ribs. You can’t be putting a cast or anything. It’s like, ‘Lay in the recliner for two months. Don’t do anything stupid'”.
Harrison is now back home in Tulum as of early March, but his challenges continue. He faces ongoing follow-up care, medication expenses, and isn’t yet strong enough to travel back to the United States for continued treatment and family support.
While he still receives some residual checks from Pawn Stars reruns, Harrison is now completely removed from the show. He relocated to Mexico in December 2024, explaining at the time, “At this stage of the game, we’re all playing a character on ‘Pawn Stars.’ I can’t play another season of 41-year-old me pretending to be 23”.
For fans hoping to help, the GoFundMe campaign remains active. As Harrison’s friend wrote on the page: “Being on television and part of Pawn Stars fame doesn’t come with a built-in safety net for emergencies like this, medical crises don’t care about celebrity status”.
