Former Fox News correspondent Rick Leventhal, husband of The Real Housewives of Orange County alum Kelly Dodd, says he is “so lucky to be alive” after a horrifying car crash left his Mercedes totaled and him in the ER.
“So lucky to be alive & grateful for the well wishes & care I’m getting,” Leventhal, 62, wrote in the caption of an Instagram post he shared on Tuesday night.
Leventhal wrote that he was being treated for four broken ribs, a fractured bone in his right foot, and his “wounded pride.”
In a video message from his hospital bed, Leventhal shared more details of the frightening incident, explaining that he had “hydroplaned” on a slick freeway in southern California amid the record-breaking rains currently pounding most of the state.
While driving east on an interstate highway outside of Palm Springs, Leventhal said, he hit “what felt like a patch of ice” on the wet road and lost control of his Mercedes.
The car slammed hard into a barrier wall and then “started spinning around across lanes of traffic” before colliding with the back of a tractor-trailer.
Along with the video, Leventhal shared a photo of the car at the scene of the crash, with its entire front end crumpled and the hood almost completely ripped off.
Despite his injuries, the TV personality insisted he was “fine,” noting that “it could have been so much worse.”
RHOC’s Kelly Dodd asks for ‘prayers’ for her husband
In her own Instagram post, RHOC alum Kelly Dodd, who married Leventhal in October of 2020, asked fans to “say prayers” for her husband.
Since leaving The Real Housewives of Orange County, in 2021, Dodd has embarked on a new venture called The Rick & Kelly Show, a podcast she and Leventhal co-host.
On Instagram, the Bravo alum wrote that there, “will be no smash tomorrow on @youtube the rick and kelly show,” referring to the couple’s Daily Smash segment, as, “my husband got in a horrible car accident. He is in the ER.”
Alongside the message, Dodd shared a photo from the scene of the crash that showed the totaled Mercedes still in the middle of the highway, leaking oil and surrounded by broken-off parts.
Bravo stars send well wishes after car accident
In the comments of her post, members of Dodd’s Real Housewives family chimed in to voice their support.
“So frightening sending prayers,” wrote The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Margaret Josephs, along with some prayer-hands emojis.
“Oh no!” wrote Vicki Gunvalson, Dodd’s former co-star on RHOC. “Thank God he is ok. Praying for a speedy recovery.”
Fortunately, it looks like Rick will make a recovery.
The Real Housewives of Orange County is currently on hiatus.