Cam Newton is happy that he's OK following a two-car accident Tuesday that overturned his truck and put him in the hospital with two fractures in his back. He was in good spirits when he addressed media for the first time since the accident Thursday afternoon.
Cam Newton couldn’t stop smiling after car accident
Cam Newton won’t play Week 15 against the Buccaneers, but more importantly he is happy to have emerged from his Tuesday car wreck relatively unscathed.
"I really couldn't talk afterwards because I was in such shock," Newton said, via the Charlotte Observer. "I got myself out the truck, and I couldn't stop smiling."
Newton said that when he got out of his Dodge Ram, he looked back and thought, “somebody’s supposed to be dead.”
“I’m on somebody’s fantasy league, and I think it’s the man upstairs,” Newton said, “As far as when I’m coming back, who cares? I’m just thankful that I have breath in my lungs.”
Newton will miss Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but given the totaled state of his truck, it's safe to say things could have been much worse. There's a reasonable chance that Newton will be able to return in Week 16. He suffered two transverse process fractures, which is the same injury that sidelined Tony Romo just one week for the Dallas Cowboys in November.
Then again, the Carolina Panthers' playoff hopes are low at the moment. With a 4-8-1 record heading into Week 15, Football Outsiders gives the Panthers a 13.1 percent chance of making the postseason. Carolina should have an even better idea of its playoff future after this week, and can decide later whether it is worth risking further injury to play Newton.
For now, Newton can rest easy knowing things could have been much worse. He described the sequence of the accident for media.
Cam: As I was approaching the car, he kind of came out slowly. I slowed up, tried to pass. As I was getting closer, he started to slow up.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 11, 2014 Cam: I was aware throughout whole thing. I really couldn't talk afterward because it was such a shock. Got out truck, couldn't stop smiling.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 11, 2014 Cam says airbags did deploy. "I'm just lucky to come out of there unscathed."
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 11, 2014 "Every time I see that flashback of looking at that truck, I'm surprised that nothing serious was done to me," --Cam Newton.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 11, 2014 See More:
