American Survivor Of Nice, France Truck Attack Is Finally Home Six Months Later #EXCLUSIVE
Home.
There is nowhere survivor Greg Krentzman and his family would rather be.
After more than six months in France, they can finally say that’s exactly where they are.
Home in California.
Their ordeal started July 14th, Bastille Day.
Greg and his French-born wife, Sophie, were walking down with their 10-year-old on her scooter.
“My wife looked up and saw a truck barreling straight at us. I knew right away this was an act of terrorism,” Greg told me in an interview exclusive to DarynKagan.com.
The Krentzmans found themselves in the middle of a crazed terrorist’s attack on Nice’s main boulevard, Promenade des Anglais.
86 people died that night.
434 were injured.
Sophie Krentzman was able to push their daughter mostly out of the way of the swerving truck.
The truck clipped Lola’s scooter and broke her ankle, as Sophie screamed for her husband to jump out of the way, as well.
“The truck was swerving from the sidewalk to the street. It was coming head on toward me. I had to decide to jump to the right or the left. I jumped to the left.
For the most part I got out of the way except for my right leg and foot. They got hit by the front of the truck.”
Greg’s leg was crushed.
Broken in 12 places.
Police stand near a truck riddled with bullet holes after the attack on Bastille Day 2014 in Nice, France. Credit: Valery Hache.
As his wife and daughter took cover in a nearby building, Greg sat in the street, bleeding and in shock. His brother and sister-in-law were able to come to his side, but they had no way of getting him to any medical attention with all the chaos.
That’s when a stranger pulled up.
“He put me, by brother and sister-in-law and severely injured Russian woman in his car and sped off to the local hospital.”
He had his first of many surgeries as doctors did everything they could to save his leg.
The contraption survivor Greg Krentzman lived with for two months as doctors did everything they could to save his leg. Credit: Greg Krentzman
It took two months in a French hospital, two months in a rehab facility and an additional 2 1/2 months of rest before Greg was cleared to come home.
In the meantime, he and his family were overwhelmed with the kindness that poured their way from across France to America and their home in Southern California.
Then US Secretary of State John Kerry paid a visit to Krentzman as he recovered in a hospital in the South of France.
American survivor, Greg Krentzman, gets to say, “Merci beaucoup,” to the stranger who scooped him up from the road the night a crazed terrorist ran him down, broke his leg and left him in the street to die.
“Everyone was just there for us, inviting us over for dinner, for tea and the French people took this incident very, very hard, not just regarding me, rather the tragedy in general.It turned the French Riviera upside down. 86 people died. I felt the love and support really throughout France and I’m so grateful for that.”
Greg is thankful to have survived.
To have his family.
To have his leg 90% healed.
To be home.
And of course, this experience has changed him.
“It has changed how I see people,” he told me. “I can see that majority of people deep down are incredible people.
To see the love and the support since this whole thing unfolded has just blown me away. I see deep down beyond this individual, this maniac who killed a bunch of people, beyond that person, people are good. Whether it’s in France, America or the majority of the world, people care. And they want to care and support and connect and help. And I didn’t realize that as much as I do now.”
Survivor Greg Krentzman and his 10-year-old daughter beaming with the bundle of balloons that awaited them back home in California. Lola recovered from her broken ankle following the attack in a matter of weeks.
Despite everything Greg and his family have been through, he won’t let terrorism win.
“I know it’s a crazy world right now. You can’t pretend the world’s not safe. The world is safe. I’m going back to France next year like we always do. We have family and friends there and I’m not going to let some crazy person change the direction of my life.”
