‘It wasn’t my time’: Calif. man on treadmill narrowly avoids car crashing into gym
Dramatic video shows the moment a car crashed through the window of a gym in Culver City, CA, last month.
Samuel Kiwasz, who was on a treadmill inside the gym at the time, walked away from the close call with only minor injuries.
He told KTLA he never expected his regular trip to the gym to become such a nightmare.
“I was looking forward to another workout and I got one,” Kiwasz said. “It was really scary. I like saw my life flash before me.”
He’d just arrived at Anytime Fitness on Sepulveda Boulevard just before 6 a.m.
But then video shows what happens seconds after he steps on to the treadmill.
A red Mercedes SUV slammed through the window and Kiwasz was thrown to the ground.
“The car went through the glass. It was like a mostly glass wall,” Kiwasz said. “As I was flying back, I saw the treadmill coming at me so I twisted it to the side to avoid being crushed.”
Nick Vierra, the gym’s general manager, was at work during the time of the incident. He ran to help.
“It shook the whole building immediately when it entered,” Vierra said. “I’m looking to see if there are any more victims. There’s nobody there.”
But Vierra noticed the female driver get out of her car.
“From what I hear it’s pretty normal for people to be out of sorts after an accident like that,” he said. “She did have a little bit of a lack of concern. From what I hear that’s pretty normal.”
Vierra said the woman was not wearing shoes.
Video shows the woman returning to her car, opening the door. Vierra said that’s when an off-duty police officer sprang into action.
“My friend who is a cop, he actually prevented her from entering the vehicle,” he said. “The vehicle was still running so it was a little bit of a concern.”
Kiwasz only sustained minor injuries, an outcome he knows that could have been much worse.
“When you go through something like that you learned that life is a gift and to cherish every moment and I guess it wasn’t my time,” he said.
As for the female driver, no word on if any charges will be filed against her, but witnesses said she was cooperating with police.
