Battlestar Galactica's Michael Trucco, who plays lovelorn Sam Anders on the Sci Fi Channel series, was recently involved in something scarier than any battle with the Cylons: a serious car accident. On December 2, Trucco was a passenger in a Ferrari that overturned after the driver lost control on a curve and went down an embankment. The driver walked away unharmed, but the roof of the car had crumpled, fracturing four of Trucco's vertebrae.
The good news is that Trucco is now out of the hospital and expected to make a full recovery. In a message posted on his official board, he explained the situation and thanked fans for their support:
"It's been a crazy week and a half to say the least. The paramedics on the scene that tended to me first said I was lucky to even be alive, let alone be able to pull myself outta the damn thing. The roof completely collapsed on the passenger side. I knew the second we rolled over and crashed down hard on the asphalt that something was seriously wrong with my neck. Then somehow I managed to crawl out on the driver's side after my friend got out and get to the side of the highway and lay down. From there I made a couple of calls and waited for the ambulance with my friend and about a dozen or so other motorists who pulled over to help. From there I was taken down the road to a waiting helicopter ready to take me to UCLA Trauma Center. It got progressively more frightening from that point on as the seriousness of what just happened started to set in."
While in the hospital, doctors were able to fuse Trucco's C-6 and C-7 vertebrae to his C-5 vertebrae. They told him he was lucky to be alive, and especially lucky not to be paralyzed, as his injury is very similar to that which crippled actor Christopher Reeve. Trucco will have to remain in a neck brace for about six weeks, but after that he should be fine.
Battlestar Galactica is not currently filming due to the writers' strike, so Trucco's injury will have no effect on production of the series.
- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Michael Trucco's Official Message Board
(Image courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel)