Washington County man among injured in New Orleans attack
Courtesy of Courtesy of Heaven Sensky Kirsch
A North Strabane Township man was among the more than 30 people injured when a Texas man plowed his pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s Eve on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, killing 15 people.
Jeremi Sensky, 51, who uses a wheelchair, suffered two broken legs when he was struck by the truck at about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday in what authorities have determined was a terrorist attack by a U.S. Army veteran.
Sensky underwent hours-long surgery Wednesday at University Medical Center New Orleans and is now recovering, said his daughter, Heaven Sensky Kirsch, who was on the family trip with her father.
“He has extensive injuries to his legs, but we want people to know that he is alive. My dad is tremendously resilient and lives vibrantly. I don’t know how he survived, but by the grace of God he did. He has a long road to recovery ahead of him, though,” said Kirsch.
Kirsch said the family had planned the road trip to New Orleans nearly a year earlier, and had stopped in Nashville to sightsee before arriving in New Orleans – their first trip to the city – on Dec. 29 to ring in the new year.
Kirsch and her mother had headed back to their hotel room while Sensky stayed behind to enjoy a pizza with friends, but Kirsch and her mom grew worried when Sensky didn’t return as scheduled.
“We knew something was wrong when he hadn’t shown up, and he wasn’t answering his phone. Then we saw the news on TV and we were frantic,” said Sensky. “We went to look for him and didn’t find him, so we went to a trauma unit to see if they had any information, and they told us there was a paralyzed man who had been brought in and he was alive. It was my dad.”
Sensky was thrown from his wheelchair and landed on the pavement after the man drove at high speed onto the sidewalk, bypassing a police vehicle that had been parked to block cars from pedestrians, and striking the revelers. The driver was killed in a shootout with police officers.
A police officer marked “alive” on Sensky’s forehead and told Sensky he would return for him after rescuing others with worse injuries.
“My dad was lying on the pavement while they were shooting back and forth. A police officer told him, ‘You’re going to be OK.’ He was cold, and he couldn’t reach his phone, but couldn’t get to it,” said Kirsch. “He said he could hear and see the gunfight above him.”
Kirsch said it’s not known when Sensky, who was paralyzed in a car accident in 1999, will be able to return home.
The family is working to recover his wheelchair – a motorized chair that was badly damaged – or to obtain another wheelchair for him to use.
“It’s been a nightmare, but I’m just glad he’s alive,” said Kirsch.
To support Sensky’s recovery, visit gofundme.com/f/support-jeremis-recovery-after-tragic-terror-attack.