A survivor of the New Orleans New Year's Day terror attack recalled the chaos and terror from his hospital bed.
Jeremi Sensky, 51, is recovering in the hospital with two broken legs after a rented truck plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring dozens.
"I'm assuming I got hit by the truck, but honestly, nobody's ever told me that, so I don't know," Sensky, who was paralyzed from the waist down before the attack, told NBC News. His wheelchair was shattered, and he was left lying face down on the ground amid the carnage.
The attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, drove the truck into the crowd in what the FBI has called an act of terrorism inspired by ISIS. Jabbar was killed in a gunfight with police moments after the rampage.
Sensky described the moments after the impact as harrowing. "I just heard screaming and I heard gunfire," he said. Unable to locate his phone, he screamed for help, only to find onlookers taking pictures from balconies.
A police officer eventually reached Sensky, explaining the devastating loss of life and telling him he was "lucky to be alive."
"It took a while," Sensky said. "I realized that it was a bad scene."
Sensky's right leg, shattered in the attack, likely saved his life by absorbing the impact, doctors said.
"I love everybody. Everybody," he said, tears welling up. "I can't believe that that would happen."
The terror attack has left the city grieving as families and survivors grapple with the tragedy.
