RV passenger describes being ejected from motorhome in freeway crash caught on video in Newhall
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (KABC) -- In an interview from his hospital bed, a man described the harrowing crash in which he was ejected from an RV after it slammed into the center divider on the 14 Freeway in Newhall.
On Tuesday, Cordell Patrick remained at Henry Mayo Hospital with multiple broken bones, severe scrapes and burns throughout his body.
The crash, which was captured on video by a passing vehicle's dashboard camera, occurred about 11:30 a.m. Monday near Los Pinetos Road.
Speaking to ABC7, Patrick said his wife was driving at the time and he was a passenger in the motorhome. He said he unbuckled his seatbelt to get up to use the bathroom and things got scary from there.
"When I got up, I noticed that we weren't going straight - we were going sideways toward the median," he said. "She had fallen asleep."
Patrick panicked, trying to prevent the worst.
"So, as I reached to grab the steering wheel, we had impact and I was thrown out the window," he told ABC7's Leo Stallworth.
Patrick landed on the other side of the center divider, in an HOV lane. An oncoming car swerved to avoid hitting him.
Patrick said he feels like God has given him a second chance at life.
"For those of you who don't believe in a higher power -- like Leo said, I'm a testimony," Patrick said.
"You need to pay attention," he said. "All of us need to change our lives in some way or another. I'm getting ready to start mine now."
