Napa boy crushed by brick chimney in 6.0 quake: ‘I should be dead’

A 13-year-old boy says he “should be dead” after a brick chimney fell onto him during Sunday’s 6.0-magnitude earthquake near Napa, Calif., leaving him seriously injured.

Speaking from his hospital bed at UC Davis Medical Center, Nicholas Dillon told FOX40 he was lucky to be alive following his brush with death during the quake.

“I do consider myself lucky to be alive,” he said. “If I hadn’t moved. I am telling you, I shouldn’t be here right know. I should be dead.”

Doctors used three plates and bolts to repair his broken pelvis, he said.

Although doctors told Nicholas he wouldn’t walk for about six months, he remained optimistic, saying he hopes to walk in four.

But for a brief moment, Nicholas said he thought he was paralyzed.

He was hosting a sleepover with a friend at his family’s home in Napa, so he gave up the couch and opted to sleep on a mattress near the chimney in the living room.

The chimney, he said, collapsed on his back. Nicholas said he couldn’t feel his legs and back for about 30 seconds.

Despite his injuries, Nicholas said he expects to be “fine.”

“The recovery is going to be a long recovery, but I am going to be OK,” he said.
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