MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - The driver behind the wheel of a van that plummeted from a parking lot at Miami International Airport is speaking out about the ordeal for the first time.
Fifty-nine-year-old Orlando Luna, an employee of American Airlines, got into his work van on Friday, buckled up and hit the gas.
He said the van accelerated to a speed he could not control.
“I felt like the vehicle was fighting with itself, like fighting against me,” said Luna.
The van traveled about 16 feet before smashing through the fourth-floor wall of an employee parking garage and crashing onto the concrete below.
A 7News viewer sent in a photo showing Luna moments after he was able to crawl out of the overturned van.
Luna said he felt lucky to be alive after taking the massive plunge and has learned that he may be able to leave the hospital as early as Wednesday.
“Me looking at like this hole in the wall and looking at the van where it’s at, it was so stunning that I said, ‘Oh, my God, I am alive,'” said Luna.
The chief at the Ryder Trauma Center credited Luna’s seat belt for saving his life.
“Imagine if he would have hit the ceiling of the car with his head unrestrained. I don’t think we would be here having this conversation,” said Dr. Nicholas Namias.
Luna, a father and grandfather who has worked for American 35 years, said the fall has given him a new outlook on life.
“God has given me a new opportunity, another perspective in life,” he said, “looking at everything in a different view, that everything material really doesn’t matter.”
Luna suffered a black eye, broken ribs, fractures in his spine, and a collapsed lung, but with family, friends and co-workers by his side, he said his road to a full recovery looks bright.
“I’ve never had so much love; let’s put it that way,” he said. “I just want to say thanks to everybody for their support and love.”
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