Lawson Bates survived a car accident in Knoxville, Tennessee

"Life can change so quickly, and I was quickly reminded of that," Lawson Bates says in a statement about surviving a car accident in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Growing Up According to Bates' rep, the 29-year-old actor was involved in a car accident Thursday darkness in Knoxville, Tenn., while driving to choose up his fiancée Tiffany Espensen from a wedding planning appointment.

In a statement, he says, "out of nowhere, a car turning left onto the main highway slammed into my passenger side." "I'm so glad I didn't pick up [Espensen] yet because that would've been disastrous."

"Life can be different in an instant, as I was recently reminded. Despite the car being destroyed, I'm grateful to be alive and relieved that the other driver was unharmed. Today, I'm especially thankful for God's protection!" Bates continues.

He and Espensen, both 23, got engaged in October when he proposed to her while filming the music video for their collusion "Crazy Love" in Italy.

"Getting to know Tiffany, her heart, her passions, also her dreams has been the greatest joy of my life, and we have made so many wonderful memories together over the past year," Bates said.

"It's been a roller coaster of a few days so far, from our 1st stop at the Colosseum in Rome to a Vespa ride through the Siena countryside, to a lovely night dinner in San Gimignano. Then, to a horse and carriage ride through Florence all leading up to the main reason I'm here: asking Tiffany if she would spend the rest of her life by my side," he continued.

Although Espensen stated that the engagement was a pleasant surprise, she did note that she began to pick up on some hints.

"I knew there was something fishy when Lawson became secretive with texts and planning with others," Espensen said. "However, he still astounded me with this surprise!"