Former ESPN sportscaster Cordell Patrick nearly lost his life in an RV crash that ejected him onto a busy Southern California freeway. However, thanks to a “higher power,” as Patrick described it, the former sportscaster lived to talk about it.
Covered in bandages, Patrick described the experience in hospital bed interviews as he recovered from multiple broken bones and road burns. “It wasn’t my time to go; my survival is a miracle,” Patrick said. “It was a blur. I don’t know how I’m alive.”
The crash happened on Monday, January 15, 2024, on State Route 14. Patrick and his wife were returning from an RV trip to their home in Valencia, just north of Los Angeles. His wife was driving, and Patrick got up to use the RV’s restroom when the vehicle swerved into the median on State Route 14.
The award-winning sportscaster described how the impact launched him through the driver’s side window. “I had just unbuckled my seat belt; I unbuckled it for five seconds,” Patrick said. “I noticed my wife had dozed off … we headed toward the median, and I tried to grab the steering wheel.”
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He added, “But the impact happened before I could grab the steering wheel.” Patrick recounted how the impact sent him sliding and bouncing 175 feet down the freeway into oncoming traffic. Also, dashcam video captured the harrowing moment the impact ejected Patrick from the RV.
It showed how a vehicle swerved out of the way to avoid striking him. “I was partially in one of the lanes,” Patrick said. “I was trying to get up, but my left ankle had turned backward.” He added, “So I was like, ‘That’s not going to work.’ So I drug myself out of that lane.”
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Consequently, Patrick made it to the median. He pressed himself against it and waited for help. Fortunately, a good Samaritan, Alf Smithey, stopped along the freeway and rushed to help the renowned sportscaster. “I noticed the guy lying still; I was just trying to keep cars away from him,” Smithey recounted.
“He was all the way there [conscious]. That was the shocking part.” Smithey revealed during the interview that despite suffering multiple broken bones, Patrick asked for his wife first. “The first thing he said was, ‘How’s my wife?'” Smithey said. While Patrick’s wife survived the crash, the sportscaster underwent surgery to help with his recovery.
He reportedly suffered multiple broken bones and required numerous head stitches. Also, the accident left him with a road rash covering about 60 percent of his body. However, Patrick said he’s thankful to have miraculously survived the freak accident.
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When asked at the hospital how he survived, Patrick pointed upwards and replied, “A higher power.” Patrick said, “It was divine intervention.” “If you didn’t think there was a higher power before this,” he added. “I’m a living witness, and I’ve got a living testimony to tell.”
While Patrick is in recovery, the accident left his wife and their pooch unharmed. However, their RV remains destroyed. According to his X bio, Patrick was a studio host for the Chiefs and Spurs on local television stations.
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