Cliven Bundy's son Ryan tells how car ran over his head when he was seven and left him with severe nerve damage and face paralysis

Rancher Ryan Bundy was hit by a car when he was seven years old and the accident caused him to suffer nerve damage to the left side of the face
Bundy says it took doctors eight years to find out that a bone sliver had severed a nerve in his brain
Since having the sliver taken out he has seen a lot of improvement
He and his brother Ammon are currently leading an occupation of a federal building in southeastern Oregon
Bundy is the son of Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy, who got into a similar standoff with federal officials in 2014 over unpaid grazing rights

By Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 16:26 GMT, 8 January 2016 | Updated: 19:41 GMT, 8 January 2016

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Ryan Bundy's face has made the front page of newspapers across the country this past week, after he and his brother Ammon led a group of ranchers to take over an Oregon wildlife refuge.

The elder Bundy brother has become one of the figureheads of the group, giving interviews to the media and speaking at press conferences - which has left many wondering about the cause of the nerve damage which has left half of his face sagging.

While Bundy has kept the focus on the group's struggle, he did explain the reason for his impairment in a video interview for conservative website RightFace.us two years ago.

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Tragic accident: Ryan Bundy was hit by a car when he was seven years old, and the accident caused him to suffer nerve damage to the left side of his face. Pictured above explaining his impairment in a 2014 video

In the video, Bundy explains that he suffered nerve damage to the left side of his face when he was seven years old, after an accident in which he was hit by a car and the it stalled out on top of his head.

'The driver - not knowing I was under the car - just hit the gas and spun out on my head,' Bundy recalled. 'I was conscious throughout all of this.'

When the driver realized someone was under the car, he got help pulling the car off Bundy and Bundy says he was briefly able to stand up on his own before losing his balance and falling to his knees.

Bundy says he suffered a broken arm and cracked skull in the incident - and that a sliver of bone severed a nerve in his brain which controls motor movement for the left side of his face.

Back then, Bundy says there wasn't medical equipment available to locate the bone sliver, so it wasn't discovered until eight years after the accident.

Since the bone sliver was removed, Bundy says he has seen a lot of improvement.

'My face used to sag very badly much worse than what you see today,' he said.

Protest: Bundy, left, is part of a group of about 20 ranchers currently occupying a government building in southeastern Oregon. Pictured above on January 7 near Burns, Oregon

Brothers: Bundy, right, and his brother Ammon, left, pictured in the occupied building on January 5. The Bundys are the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who had a similar standoff with federal officials in 2014

Bundy is the eldest son of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada cattle rancher who got into an armed confrontation with federal officials in 2014 over unpaid grazing rights.

Cliven's sons went to Burns over the weekend, and took over a government building on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, in support of two ranchers who were sentence to prison on arson charges.

The ranchers - Dwight Hammond and his son Steven Hammon - reportedly set fire to public rangeland after complaining that the Bureau of Land Management was taking too long complete environmental studies for a controlled burn.

The Hammonds have distanced themselves from the Bundys, when they reported to prison on Monday.

The Bundys and their group of about 20 are still occupying the government building.

On Thursday, three Oregon sheriff's met with leaders of the group to try and persuade them to end their occupation after locals made it clear they want the protesters gone.

But it was unclear whether the meeting Thursday at a snowy intersection in southeastern Oregon would lead to an end of the occupation by Ammon Bundy's group any time soon.

'There are some positives that could come out of this,' Harney County Sheriff David Ward, accompanied by colleagues from two other counties, told Bundy and his group.

'Before this thing turns into something negative, which would ruin all of that, I think we need to find a peaceful resolution to help you guys get out of here,' Ward said.

Bundy said his group poses a threat to no one. He also said his demands that federal land in Harney County be turned over to local residents to manage are being ignored.

'I didn't come to argue,' Ward said. Bundy said neither had he.

Ward offered to escort Bundy and his followers out of the refuge, which Bundy scoffed at.

'I'm not afraid to go out of the state,' Bundy told reporters after the meeting. 'I don't need an escort.'

Ward said he plans to talk with Bundy again on Friday.