Plane crash victim in good spirits

The family of a Carson City man hit by a plane Saturday said he is in good spirits.

"He's joking about seeing himself on TV, about a plane hitting him and still being alive," said Brent Griffin, of Santa Rosa, Calif.

His father, Robert Griffin, was moving a sprinkler at his Apollo Drive home Saturday when a Cherokee Piper piloted by Kevin Jensen, a Carson City physician, crashed into his yard. Griffin was pinned underneath the plane and suffered two broken legs.

"He was really lucky," Brent Griffin said. "He had a better chance of getting struck by lightning than surviving that. It was a blessing from God."

Griffin remains in Washoe Medical Center in fair condition.

T.J. Reed, Griffin's grandson in law, was at a nearby home with other family members when the plane flew by.

"It was sputtering," Reed said. "We made a joke that it sounded like it was going to crash."

Then they heard a crash, saw the dust flying from the Griffins' yard. The plane clipped two trees during its descent, and Reed said he jumped the fence into the back yard to get to the crashed aircraft.

Kevin Jensen was out of the plane, but his wife, Lois, was still inside. Reed and another neighbor pulled her out.

"There were no visible injuries," Reed said. "She was in and out, but you could tell she was hurting inside."

Kevin Jensen underwent surgery Saturday at Carson-Tahoe Hospital and is listed in stable condition. Lois Jensen was taken by helicopter to Washoe Medical Center in Reno where she was treated and released on Sunday.