Tragedy struck New Orleans on New Year’s Eve when a man driving a pickup truck barreled down Bourbon Street, killing 14 people in the process. Dozens more were injured, including a man from Pennsylvania.
51-year-old Jeremi Sensky was in New Orleans on December 31 and was celebrating New Year’s. He was one of the individuals who was injured as the gunman drove down Bourbon Street, leaving behind a trail of carnage.
Sensky had already been injured a few years ago in an accident and was paralyzed. Both of his legs were broken as he was knocked out of his wheelchair by the passing pickup truck.
He said: “I didn’t know if I was going to make it here, and everyone helped me out. I’m all put back together again. I’m happy to be alive, man.”
Sensky said he didn’t understand what was causing the commotion as the pickup truck started down Bourbon Street. At first he thought it was an explosion. He said: “Someone was yelling behind me, and I turned around and heard a loud noise.
“The next thing I remember, I was laying on the ground, and my leg was all floppy, like it was broken. I was lifting up my leg with my hand. It was like bending the pieces, and I didn’t know what was wrong.”
After the fall broke several bones, he had to have surgery for hours. Since he was on the ground, he may have been saved as the gunman started firing at bystanders.
He said: “I heard gunfire, and I kept thinking, I hope I’m out of the way from the gunfire. I hope I’m low enough on the ground that I wasn’t in the way of the gunfire.”
He was also screaming as loud as he could for help and struggling to determine how seriously he was injured. He said: “I was freaked out because of my leg. I kept screaming for help. Nobody was coming. I kept scraping around me trying to find my phone, there were just pieces of my wheelchair.
“I was even more freaked out because now I’m lying by a truck — and can’t move — that might have explosives in it.”
First responders were there quickly to transport him from Bourbon Street to University Medical Center. Even after waking up from surgery, he was struggling to get a grasp on things.
“Honestly, like the whole time, I really did not know what the hell was going on. I just didn’t know. I didn’t know that I’d been hit by anything. I thought it was an explosion. I thought something blew up.”
Even though he was injured, he still feels fortunate to survive the attack. He said: “I’ve been through a lot in my life, man.
“I was paralyzed in a car wreck. That was probably the worst part of my life, and I’ve been in a wheelchair ever since. I hate to say it, but I feel lucky right now. I am alive, and the people I was with are still alive.”
When he was asked how he had optimism and his thoughts for the future of the new year, he replied: “I’m alive, man. I’m alive. Everything’s good.”