A Coast man and his dog were going to NOLA when tragedy struck. ‘Angels watching over him.’
An I-10 crash left a Bay St. Louis man with critical injuries.
Michale D’Angelo, general manager of 200 North Beach Restaurant and Bar and proud owner of a dog named Lady, lost control of his car on I-10 and crashed into a tree on his way to New Orleans Feb. 8.
The crash landed D’Angelo in the ICU of University Medical Center in New Orleans with injuries that included two broken hips, a broken ankle, a left knee with a deep laceration exposing the knee cap, a fracture of the C-spine (the portion of the spine in his neck), a hemothorax (blood in between the chest wall and lung) and a black eye from his eyeglasses, according to his aunt, Christi Morand of Biloxi.
“There were angels watching over him that night and we are all so grateful that he’s alive,” Morand said in a GoFundMe she started for her nephew.
Lady’s whereabouts weren’t discovered until the following morning. She was in the car at the time of the crash and found on the back seat floorboard of D’Angelo’s car at the tow yard. “We consider that a huge blessing and she will be such a great help in his healing process,” Morand said.
The healing is well underway. While D’Angelo is still at the New Orleans hospital, he’s out of ICU and will soon be transferred to Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital.
With plates in both hips and a broken ankle, Morand said D’Angelo will have to learn to walk again and will take months to fully recover. According to a social media post by 200 North Beach Restaurant and Bar, D’Angelo is also undergoing speech therapy.
“Although he has a long road ahead, his fighting spirit is shining through,” the post said.
This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 1:49 PM.
