Canonsburg man who survived New Orleans terror attack shares his story with Channel 11

Seven weeks after a terrorist drove through a crowd of people on the streets of New Orleans, a Washington County man who survived the attack is sharing his story exclusively with Channel 11.

A photo of Jeremi Sensky and his family on Bourbon and Canal streets in New Orleans was taken just a couple of hours before the horrific terror attack on New Year’s Day.

“We all went out to dinner at a restaurant right on Canal Street,” Sensky said.

Sensky, who lives in Canonsburg, was on vacation. He was in his wheelchair heading back to his hotel room when a pickup truck barreled through a crowd of people in the French Quarter early that morning.

A total of 14 people were killed and at least 35 others were hurt, including Sensky. He said he was thrown from his chair when he was hit breaking both his legs.

“I was holding my legs and my arms,” he said. “I was just in pieces.”

While on the ground, the 51-year-old said bullets were flying over his head.

“That really haunts me, the gunfire around me,” Sensky said. “Other than that, the screaming. It was like a war zone basically, and I’ve never been in wars.”

Sensky immediately underwent a grueling 13-hour surgery.

Seven weeks later, he’s still recovering and getting stronger. He spoke to Channel 11′s Antoinette DelBel from Florida where he’s enjoying the sunshine and doing physical therapy a couple times a week.

“The most, biggest issue I’ve been having is swelling in my legs. I have a lot of therapy to go to get my legs to heal because I can’t put any weight on them,” Sensky said. “Every day I get up. I go outside and I’m in the sun. It makes me feel so much better.”

Sensky is continuing to heal from the inside - out.

“I feel terrible for the people that lost their lives. That bothers me a lot,” he said. “The whole thing was a terrible situation.”

Sensky said he wouldn’t be where he is today without all the community support, including the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“They sent me a ball that was signed by Tomlin and Art Rooney,” he said. “People that I haven’t talked to since I was a kid came out of the woodwork to get in touch with me, and people that don’t even like me said hi.”

Sensky hopes to return home to Canonsburg in April.

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