Man survives being ejected from RV in crash: "It's indescribable"
A man was launched from his RV after he collided with a center divider on the 14 Freeway in Los Angeles on Monday. He miraculously survived.
The crash happened just before 11:30 a.m. when the RV drove into the center divider on the northbound side of the freeway. The man, a passenger in the vehicle, was launched onto the opposite side of the freeway. The crash caused a SigAlert for both sides of the freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said their paramedics took one person to the hospital. The extent of their injuries is unclear at this point, but video from the crash site showed one man with severe road rash but conscious.
A Good Samaritan who stopped to help said the RV driver fell asleep before hitting the center divider.
"She fell asleep and when hit the center divider, I didn't even see the guy leave out of the vehicle," Alf Smithey said. "She kept saying 'Where's my husband? Where's my husband?!'"
Her husband, Cordell Parick said he can remember every second of his frightening ordeal.
"It's indescribable. I didn't know what was going on," Patrick said. "I thought the entire side of the RV had been ripped off. I was trying to figure out, 'Why am I outside?'"
Patrick said his face slid across 170 feet of pavement after he was launched out of his brand-new RV. He and his wife were returning from a camping trip in Menifee.
They were only a few minutes away from their Valencia home when he had to use the restroom. That's when he realized his wife had dozed off. As the RV began to swerve off, Patrick tried to grab a hold of the wheel and straighten out, but it was too late, and the RV had slammed into the wall. He had worn his seatbelt the entire time until that moment.
The crash broke his collar bone, two other bones on his leg and a few toes. He suffered severe road rash and needed to get stitches on his forehead.
Patrick believes his college basketball career may have helped him survive the horrific experience.
While grateful to still be alive, the former sportscaster has paused his dream of starting his "Two Legends Podcast"
"I do know how I am alive, by the grace of God," Patrick said. "That was divine intervention and nothing else."
Lying on his hospital bed, Patrick said he is focused on healing.