As he was wiggling his feet under a white blanket, Bobby Hurley, wearing a pajama-like gown and mussed hair, looked like a little boy who decided to spend the day in bed watching his favorite team win a football game. Hurley was watching his beloved Dallas Cowboys on TV Saturday, but he was also talking about growing up, becoming a man and surviving an experience his doctor said would have meant sure death in 99 of 100 cases.
"I just remember being in the car, making the turn and then seeing something come at me in a split second," he was saying. "I remember feeling the car crashing into me and then that was it. And then I don't remember anything until I was in the ditch. I was in the water and stuff. I remember feeling real cold and not really knowing what was going on. And I remember that I was in an accident. I thought I was going to die."Hurley spoke publicly for the first time since a violent two-car collision last Sunday night left him nearly dead in a drainage ditch, where he was found by several motorists, including Kings teammate Mike Peplowski.
"I remember seeing Peplowski, and seeing him really made a big difference for me," Hurley said. "He gave me his jacket and helped me get up the hill, and then I was in the ambulance.
"At first, you don't know where you really are. I didn't really know what was happening to me. At one instance everything is fine and you're on your way home, and the next few seconds . . . I'm in a ditch and I feel pain. I just feel real scared, like everything is coming to an end."