Paralyzed survivor of New Orleans terror attack whose mangled wheelchair was found at bloody scene speaks out
A survivor of the New Orleans terrorist attack who was catapulted from his wheelchair and left mutilated at the scene has spoken out from his hospital room.
Jeremi Sensky, 51, who was paralyzed before the attack, was returning to his hotel after ringing in the New Year with friends and family when the tragedy occurred.
The father was struck by the white Ford F-150 EV waving one ISIS flag hired by Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, as he plowed through the unsuspecting crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14 revelers.
Sensky recalled hearing a “huge noise” before he was thrown from his mobility device and landed face down next to the truck’s tires. The blow left him bloodied and bruised, with two broken legs.
“I assume I was hit by the truck, but honestly no one ever told me so I don’t know,” Sensky said. NBC News.
“But my wheelchair was completely destroyed and the pieces were everywhere, so something hit me.”
His daughter, Heaven Sensky Kirsch, confirmed to DailyMail.com that the badly damaged wheelchair photographed next to the terrorist’s truck belongs to her father.
The terrifying photo showed the seats had been pushed back awkwardly, with the arm and leg rests also visibly deformed.
Sensky suffered a black eye, a cut on his head, a rash all over his body, swollen arms and hands and both his legs were shattered
His daughter, Heaven Sensky Kirsch, confirmed to DailyMail.com that the badly damaged wheelchair, photographed next to the high-performance truck, belongs to her father
Sensky remembered the chaotic scene and began calling for help when he couldn’t find his cell phone.
“I just heard screaming and I heard gunshots,” he said. “No one came, and so I pushed myself onto my back, and I saw people, and they were taking pictures from the balcony, and I screamed for help, and the people just looked at me.”
“I kept asking if anyone could help me and get me out of there, and it took a while. I realized it was a bad scene.”
Kirsch said WKMG she and her mother waited for Sensky at the hotel and became concerned when they had not heard from him.
As soon as they turned on the news and heard about the attack, they went to the nearest trauma unit.
‘He was hit by the truck and thrown from his wheelchair. “He has a black eye, a cut on his head, a rash all over his body, swollen arms and hands, and both of his legs were shattered — one of which had a bone sticking out that he saw being sawed off,” Kirsch said. .
The loving daughter said her father, who has been paralyzed since a car accident left him paralyzed from the neck down in 1999, was celebrating with friends when the tragedy occurred.
‘He doesn’t even drink. He enjoyed life and enjoyed the music,” she said.
Sensky recalled hearing a “huge noise” before he was thrown from his mobility device and landed face down next to the truck’s tires
Jeremi Sensky, 51, who was paralyzed before the attack, was catapulted from his wheelchair during the terrorist attack in New Orleans
The father, who has been paralyzed since a car accident left him paralyzed from the neck down in 1999, was celebrating with friends when the tragedy occurred.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses and the United Cajun Navy donated Sensky (pictured with his daughter (center) and wife (right) a new wheelchair
She told me WDSU that the family finds comfort in the thought that Sensky’s almost heavy wheelchair could have slowed the truck.
“I tell myself that my father’s heavy wheelchair slowed down that heavy truck for a lot of people,” Kirsch said.
‘His head was five feet from the steering wheel. If he hadn’t been hit, he would have been shot because he can’t get out of the chair.”
The family has one GoFundMe to help with medical expenses and the United Cajun Navy donated Sensky a new wheelchair.
“He’s so lucky to be alive, and we’re so grateful that many families here didn’t get the news we did. My father is a fighter and loves life,” the fundraiser said. ‘My father has a remarkable zest for life and an extremely positive attitude.
‘We are so reluctant to accept financial support because we know there are many more people in a worse condition, and we have already been blessed with the support of friends and family. However, the road ahead is unpredictable.”