Mets star Pete Alonso 'blessed' to be alive following horrific car crash; wife says it's a 'miracle'
New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso miraculously walked away from a horrific car crash this week with only a scratch.
The two-time Home Run Derby champion was struck by a driver in Tampa, Florida, who ran a red light on Sunday while going to spring training. His vehicle flipped three times before coming to a stop on its side. The athlete says he is “blessed” to be alive.
“Yesterday, I got in a really kind of a brutal car accident. ... To me, this is just really special to be here,” Alonso told reporters. “This is a really special spring training because yesterday was a really close experience to death.”
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“I’m thankful to be alive,” Alonso continued. “I’m really thankful that I’m healthy, very thankful to be here. Anything can happen at any given moment. I’m just really, really blessed to be here.
The two-time home derby champion said one moment he was on his way to spring training and the next thing he was “kicking” his windshield in trying to get out of his flipped-over car.
“[I’m] just really blessed to be here. Thankful nothing is wrong. Also thank you, Ford, for having great engineering,” the first baseman celebrated.
Tampa police reported that the accident is under investigation and occurred around 6:30 p.m.
Alonso’s wife also posted on social media about the accident, which she witnessed firsthand. Haley Alonso followed her husband to spring training in her car behind his car. She posted a video of her husband’s car flipped over along with other clips of scenes from the accident on Instagram.
“A distracted driver ran a red light going at an extremely fast rate and hit directly into Pete’s truck. I was in my car following behind him and saw the whole thing happen in front of me. Once the car struck the side of his truck, it flipped 3 times and slid,” she recounted in the video description.
Following the accident, which took place five minutes from the couple’s house in Tampa, she slammed on her breaks and ran up to her husband’s truck preparing for the worst.
“I was terrified of what I was going to see. I couldn’t see inside of the truck because the windshield was shattered. I screamed for him just hoping that he’d be able to answer me,” she continued. “He said he was ok and was going to kick out the windshield to escape since he was trapped. He got himself out and to everyone’s shock, only had a single scratch on his arm. It’s a miracle that he’s safe after this horrifying of an accident.”
“I thought I watched my husband die in front of me and I will never forget that feeling,” she continued. “This could’ve easily unfolded much differently and that’s what is so scary.”
Haley Alonso asked others “not to drive distracted” and to wear their seatbelts.
Alonso was seen warming up at the Mets' spring training facility in Port St. Lucie and was given the green light to participate in a full workout with the Mets on Tuesday.
The couple married on Nov. 12, 2021. While on their honeymoon last November, the Alonsos met Pope Francis in Vatican City.
