Man ejected from moving RV reunited with good Samaritan; now out of hospital

LOS ANGELES - Cordell Patrick has a big booming voice and one of those infectious personalities, so when the award-winning sportscaster speaks you listen. On Thursday night, from his hospital room at Henry Mayo Hospital in Santa Clarita, the former athlete reminded us he was down- but not out.

"I’m not supposed to be here. I almost died earlier in the week."

Patrick — who many now know — as the man ejected from a moving RV on the 14 freeway on Martin Luther King Day, is beginning the next stage of his healing. He was released from the hospital Friday and is moving to a rehab facility.

Numerous angles of the horrific crash were recorded on dash cams of vehicles and from motorists along the freeway, turning Patrick’s worst moment into a viral moment.

One of the first people on the scene was a young dad, Alf Smithey, who was traveling north behind the out-of-control RV. His cellphone video shows him approaching Patrick slumped against the side of the center median, bloodied and in extreme pain but able to speak. Patrick’s clothes were ripped and lifted where the man flew over the center divider and slid across the freeway into oncoming traffic. 

Smithey thought Patrick had landed on the southbound side of the freeway. But Patrick explained he had landed — literally — on the freeway, vehicles hurtling toward him at high speeds.

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"I was halfway in the carpool lane, halfway in the emergency lane. I saw cars coming at me. I couldn’t stand up, so I grabbed whatever I could to get to the inside the median and place my back on the inside of the median."

Smithey stayed with Patrick until the paramedics arrived and rushed the severely injured man to the hospital where he’s been for almost two weeks recovering from painful injuries.

Since the accident, the two men from different generations have exchanged a few texts. And Smithey briefly visited Patrick at his bedside as he convalesced. He wanted to see with his own eyes how Patrick was doing in the hospital. On the Thursday evening FOX 11 was there, Patrick’s wife, LaTonya, was there too. LaTonya was at the wheel of the RV when she says she blacked out and the huge recreational vehicle flew over a couple lanes into the divider.

But on this evening, the focus was on looking forward not back. Patrick is moving to a rehab center where he will begin the process of healing from his numerous injuries and walking again. 

"It’s a long road to recovery. But I’m going to get better. Yes I am," he exclaimed. 

As for Patrick and Smithey, the two men who met under the most urgent of circumstances say they plan to stay in touch. Patrick says when he’s feeling better, he’s going to make a special BBQ with secret sauce… and of course Smithey is invited.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help defray mounting medical expenses.