Seattle man survives chimney rubble

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Not everyone hit by a falling chimney during a 6.8-magnitude earthquake would call himself lucky, but Curtis Johnny Sr. does.

Johnny, 48, said he was just glad his girlfriend, Darlene Saxby, was unhurt.

"That was my first concern when I rose from the rubble," he said from Harborview Medical Center, where he was recovering from a serious back injury.

Saxby, 38, was standing just a foot away when the chimney in the south Seattle apartment collapsed on top of Johnny.

On Friday, Gov. Gary Locke visited Johnny and two other Harborview patients who were among about 410 people injured in Wednesday's earthquake. Most injuries were minor.

"I think it's nearly a miracle more people weren't hurt," said Chris Martin, Harborview's administrative director for emergency services.

Johnny must take heavy pain medication, wear a back brace for three months and endure several months of physical therapy.

"I was lucky considering what fell on me," he said.

At first, Johnny thought the quake was just a light tremor until dishes, cups and pictures started falling to the ground. He urged Saxby to leave the apartment, but she went back to grab her shoes. That's when the chimney crumbled through the roof of the second-floor apartment.

"I kept screaming his name, and he wasn't answering me," Saxby recalled.

Johnny said once he realized what happened, he pushed his way out of the bricks. The two were unable to open the door, so they yelled out the window until a neighbor came to help.

"They knocked the door right off the hinges," Johnny said.

He won't be able to work for months, but Saxby said the seafood processing company where he has worked for the past 14 years has promised to keep his job.

"It's an experience for sure," Johnny said. "It makes you realize how precious life is."

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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