Man Miraculously Survives Boston AND Texas Explosions
Seconds after Joe Berti, 43, crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the first bomb exploded. Joe’s wife, Amy, was near the finish line to take a photograph of her husband finishing the 26.2 mile race. He was uninjured.
Shortly after, the second bomb exploded.
Amy was only 10 yards away from the bomb and was also miraculously unhurt, although, the woman next to her had her leg torn off from the knee down.
I had just run to the finish line and… (moments) later I heard the first explosion, and then turned around and saw the smoke,” he said. “I knew immediately that it was a bomb. … Then the second explosion occurred and I saw a wave of people running.”
Two days later, the couple had returned to their home state of Texas. As he was traveling home from a meeting on Interstate 35, he and felt his second explosion in two days. The fertilizer plant in West, Texas exploded.
I was just like, `I can’t believe this!’” said Berti, who said he had never witnessed an explosion before. Then he thought: “I just want to get out of here and get away from all these explosions.”
When a reporter suggested to his wife, Amy, that Joe should stay home for a while, she joked, “We need to keep him moving. Maybe he just needs to stand in an open field.”
People keep saying, `Don’t you feel unlucky?’ and I was actually the opposite – saying not only do I not feel unlucky, but I feel blessed that my wife could be 10 yards from the explosion and not have a scratch.”
The explosions took place roughly 1,875 miles apart, yet, Joe was close enough to feel the power of both blasts.
Pretty sure I want Joe with me when I buy my next lottery ticket.
Source: Associated Press photo editor Karly Domb Sadof and Susan James at The Associated Press News and Information Research Center contributed to this report.
