Chris Martin, 41, was having the time of his life at Welcome to Rockville over the weekend before, he said, he almost lost his life.
"I'm so blessed that I'm here and I'm able to see my family another day," Martin said.
From his hospital bed, in a lot of pain, Martin said he was crowd surfing Saturday night, trying to make his way to the front of the crowd, when, he said he was dropped.
"Next thing I know, I got dropped, and landed on the mosh pit on my head," said Martin who believes it was no accident. "I was actually thrown in there."
I spoke to the 41yo dad from his hospital bed who was seriously injured after crowd surfing during #WelcomeToRockville — who he calling a hero tonight at 10 @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/mWfAhPqnFm
— Amber Krycka (@AmberANjax) May 2, 2018
Martin's daughters said they have received several messages from people who were there that night and said it was intentional.
"It's very upsetting," said Kristi Martin.
"Three people tossed him and he fell on his head," said Courtney Martin.
While Martin's family looks for answers, they say they are thankful he is OK and especially grateful for a stranger who happened to be a paramedic who took care of their father.
Here’s another picture of Chris Martin who is recovering at the hospital after he says he broke his neck while crowd surfing at #WelcomeToRockville — his daughter says he believes he was thrown intentionally. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/39fkfvbITN
— Amber Krycka (@AmberANjax) May 1, 2018
"He immediately dropped down and grabbed my neck and held it straight. He wouldn't let anyone move me and he stayed right there with me until I got into the ambulance, so he's my hero," said Martin. "He was my savior, I'll say that. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have the chance.
Now the community is rallying around Martin, working to find out who exactly was involved in the incident and to raise money for Chris's medical expense.
Martin suffered a broken neck and bruised spine leaving him feeling numb in part of his chest according to his daughter Courtney, but he is making some improvements.
“I’ve got some movement back in my left leg, none in my right. And all 10 of my fingers has lost mobility,” said Martin.
To contribute to Martin's medical expenses click HERE.
Despite this bad circumstance, Martin is in good spirits and looking forward to next year at Welcome to Rockville.
“We are going to go back. We are going to have fun again," said Martin.
Chris Martin's daughter Courtney tells me his neck is broken after fell while crowd surfing at #WelcomeToRockville. She says, at first, he thought it was an accident. Now he believes he was thrown intentionally. Here's one way to help: https://t.co/A3wKGrdVhY. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/8WPusIIndc
— Jenna Bourne (@jennabourneWTSP) May 1, 2018
Cox Media Group
