WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Speaking from his hospital bed, Alex Jeon recalled the terrifying moment when tires from a tractor-trailer slammed into the pickup truck his dad was driving in Lancaster on Tuesday.
Jeon said he escaped death but not serious injury when the two tires came off a tractor-trailer traveling the opposite direction on Route 2 and smashed into the pickup he was a passenger in.
“We saw two giant wheels coming towards us, and there was no time to react. So, it hit the car and I think off that impact, that is when my leg broke because the dashboard smashed into my leg,” Jeon said.
The several hundred-pound tires hit with such force that Alex’s dad lost control and ran off the highway right into a tree.
Firefighters cut the roof off the pickup to free Alex and the 23-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where doctors determined he had suffered a lacerated kidney.
They operated and also put a metal rod in his leg.
“I am going to need some physical therapy and learn how to walk again,” Jeon said.
The driver who lost the tires stopped but, the family is upset at what they call the company’s negligence.
“I really do think they should be held accountable for what happened, this is not okay, this is a traumatic experience for me that I need to get over, this battle has just begun,” said Jeon.
Alex and his dad know that if the difference was a few feet or a couple of seconds, they could have been killed.
“I could have been dead today and my dad. I am blessed to be alive,” he said.
The family said they plan on contacting a lawyer.
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