GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A local principal missed the first day of his school this year after surviving a jump from a moving truck during an accident. Now he’s beginning his long road to recovery.
Rockford Christian Principal Eric Burgess found himself in a life-or-death situation in Plainfield Township August 16. He was driving school supplies from a school in Grand Rapids when his brakes went out.
While travelling north on Plainfield, he flew through the Northland Drive intersection unscathed before realizing he was heading right for Versluis Lake.
“I thought of my kids and my wife, and I thought I would have a better chance if I get out of the vehicle now,” Burgess said.
He took off his seatbelt and jumped out of the truck just before it soared into the lake.
“I rolled down the embankment about probably halfway, and I could tell right away that I had hurt my feet pretty significantly,” Burgess said.
He broke several bones in his feet and ankles and is bound to a wheelchair for at least nine more months.
Wednesday, Burgess came home to a welcome reception from his wife and kids and a new, decorated wheelchair ramp.
Burgess says the school community has helped tremendously throughout his recovery so far, and he hopes to visit soon.
