Photo Credit: Chris Bernard/istock

Text Size:

May 12, 2010

Andrew Leitch was out for a leisurely walk with his son in Penrith, Australia, when a car driven by an 82-year-old woman careened out of control and struck him. Officials believe that the driver suffered a heart attack while behind the wheel, according to the CBS Affiliate of Albany.

Leitch saw the car veering in his direction a fraction of a second before the accident, and managed to scoop his son out of harm's way and take the impact of the crash himself. Leitch survived the incident with only a broken leg.

"I can take the hit. That was more or less what I was thinking. You know I can repair, there's no way he is gonna repair," Leitch told the news source. "I thought if they hit the back of me, you know, I've got at least a chance you know, I might break a leg or whatever, that's fixable but, they hit my son he's not fixable."

Those who have been seriously injured in a car crash may benefit from the camaraderie that group support offers. Survivors should search for organizations in their area that cater to their specific experience. Regional groups like the Brain Injury Association of Michigan can prove to be invaluable resources.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that a total of 16,520 people died in car crashes in 2007 and 1,475,000 were injured in 2006 (the last year for which the dates are available).

Comments / Post a comment