FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A man is opening up about the moment he and a friend avoided a crash while on their morning walk in Fort Lauderdale.
Doug Rutherford said he barely saw the car that nearly crashed into him and his friend, Monday morning, and he added that he has no memory of how he reacted.
“It was so fast, I didn’t even see it coming,” he said. “You don’t remember much when it happens. You just kind of react, and I couldn’t even tell you how I reacted until I saw the video.”
According to Rutherford, he and his friend began the morning walks along Sunrise Boulevard near the beach in March. They were on such a walk when the driver of a white vehicle lost control and nearly hit them.
“Started during the pandemic because the gyms closed down, so we started walking,” he said. “It’s like I didn’t move until the last second. I guess when the bumpers started moving at me, that’s kind of when I jumped out of the way.”
The crash happened across the street from Fire Station No. 13 in Fort Lauderdale.
Firefighters Brad Gillette and David Arcas were going over their morning checks at the time of the crash.
“We heard a loud — almost sounded like an explosion — but a big bang,” Arcas said.
“It almost looked like a car went into a building,” Gillette said.
They rushed over to help, but only the driver was injured and had to be taken to the hospital. Rutherford and his friend were not hurt.
“You can tell he didn’t know what happened,” Rutherford said. “He was just sitting there.”
A few years ago, Rutherford survived a heart transplant.
When asked how many lives he has, Rutherford, while chuckling, said, “I don’t know, not many left probably.”
Despite the recent scare, Rutherford said the morning walks will continue.
“We walked there today,” he said. “When you think about it, a car comes towards you, and you definitely move out of the way now.”
The details surrounding the crash remain under investigation.
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