Canonsburg man among those injured in New Orleans
A Canonsburg man was among those injured when a man drove a truck around a police blockade and into a crowd of revelers during New Year’s celebrations early Wednesday morning in New Orleans.
A family member said Jeremi Sensky, 51, was hurt in what authorities termed a terrorist attack by a U.S. Army veteran.
Sensky’s daughter, Heaven Sensky Kirsch also of Canonsburg, posted on social media late Wednesday evening that he is out of surgery and expected to be intubated into Thursday.
“By the grace of God, he is alive,” she wrote. “I want people to know my dad is alive, full of life, is resilient and he lives vibrantly, and I’m sure he’ll continue to.”
Kirsch told TribLive that Sensky, who has used a wheelchair since 1999, appeared to have been returning to his hotel in the early hours of New Year’s Day after enjoying pizza with friends. When he didn’t return as scheduled, his family quickly grew worried, Kirsch said.
“We started to search for him,” she said.
The family grew frantic after Sensky didn’t respond to phone calls.
“We thought he was likely dead for hours because he wasn’t picking up his phone,” Kirsch said.
She said she rushed with her mother to the closest trauma unit and sat in the waiting room, hoping to get some information on her father.
“We prayed he was there and alive,” Kirsch said.
Nurses told the family that there was a paralyzed man at the hospital who was alive, and it turned out to be her father, she said.
Both of his legs were broken when he was struck by the pickup, she said.
“He laid there a while after a police officer marked him ‘alive’ on his forehead,” Kirsch said.
“They told him they’d be back for him because there were (others with) worse injuries. My dad told me shots were being fired over him,” she said.
She was able to speak with her father before he went into surgery Wednesday night at University Medical Center New Orleans.
“I am frightened and anxious,” said Kirsch, who added that her father is expected to survive his injuries.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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