Man recovering after falling boulders crush van in California. ‘Blessed to be alive’
.png "A California man shared his story after his van was crushed in a rockslide while he was driving.")
A California man is recovering after he was injured when falling boulders crushed his van, according to reports.
Around 8 a.m. Oct. 18, first responders were called for reports of a traffic collision, according to a Facebook post by the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
Firefighters found a van with “severe damage” with a person trapped inside, the fire department said. They believed the van was damaged from a possible rockslide.
“Firefighters quickly extricated the patient using heavy rescue equipment,” rescuers said.
The man, later identified as Joseph Furtek, was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Now, he’s speaking about his experience and his recovery.
“If anybody had been in the passenger seat, they would have been dead -- there’s no question,” Furtek told KABC. “I spoke to one of the officers who was on the scene, and he said when they arrived, they thought it was a fatality -- that there’s no way this person lived. So I’m very, very blessed to be alive.”
Furtek told KCAL he was moving to the Central Coast and was traveling in a van he planned to live in when two large boulders fell on it.
“I completely crushed my right leg,” he told KABC. “I mean there was even discussion about amputating it at the scene; and even in the ER, the trauma unit, because I was losing so much blood out of this leg that they gave me 12 units of blood.”
Furtek was starting a “new life” according to a GoFundMe page set up by family. But since the accident, he’s been bedridden in the hospital.
“Frustrated that I find myself in bed and I’m not able to live my dream right now,” he told KCAL. “It’s gonna take a long time for me to establish usage of my right leg.”
The American Red Cross said there are signs you can look for to reduce the risk of being affected by a landslide.
“Landslides are rocks, soil, and mud falling down a slope. They can happen suddenly or develop slowly over time,” the website said. “Landslides can be triggered by earthquakes, heavy rain, melting snow, volcanic eruptions and wildfires.”
The Red Cross said signs of a landslide include:
▪ The presence of “tilted or bent trees” or “sagging utility lines”
▪ “Springs that develop in new places or streams that stop flowing suddenly”
▪ Cracks in the ground or road, broken roads and “earthen mounds on a slope”
▪ Cracks in “walls, floors, and around windows or doors”
▪ Pipes that are leaking or broken
▪ Tilted floors, posts or walls and “windows or doors that suddenly begin to stick”
▪ The “movement of soil away from foundation”
Furtek said although the accident set him back, he is thankful that he survived.
“I’m grateful. I’m grateful I’m still alive and it gives you perspective,” he told KCAL.
This story was originally published November 17, 2024 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Man recovering after falling boulders crush van in California. ‘Blessed to be alive’."
