Kiwi champion jockey Jim Cassidy narrowly escaped death on Saturday after being involved in a head-on car accident.
The 56-year-old Hall of Fame jockey was rushed to Westmead Hospital in Sydney with bleeding on his brain after colliding with another car which had allegedly veered onto the wrong side ofthe road.
Cassidy was on his way home from Lynwood Country Club after playing a round of golf with former Australian cricketer Doug Bollinger when the accident happened.
Speaking to the Sunday Morning Herald from his hospital bed, Cassidy said he didn't know how he survived.
"I thought I was dead," Cassidy said. "I don't know how I got out of it the way I did but I did."
Jockey Jim Cassidy was rushed to hospital after being involved in a head-on car crash. photo / Getty
"We were going around a corner. The other bloke came to the corner, I could see him, I was 50 metres away. All of a sudden, he went bang into my windscreen. He lost control on the wet road and just hit me head-on. I had nowhere to go. If I went to the left, I would've hit a tree.
"The airbag went off. I've never seen one go off before. With all the dust, I thought the car was on fire. I was panicking so I was just trying to get out. They found me staggering around on the road."
Cassidy, who was one of the sport's greatest jockeys before retiring in 2015, remains in a stable condition and could be discharged from hospital as early as tomorrow.
"I've got a sore head and a sore body but I'm blessed," he said. "I have a little bit of bleeding on the brain but that's stopped, according to the neurosurgeons.
"My head smashed into the driver's side window. It was swelling up right before my Mum's eyes yesterday. The right side of my face is so sore. They were giving me morphine but it didn't seem to work.
"I'm just very thankful that I had a seat belt on and the airbag worked. Very, very lucky boy."
Cassidy said he was yet to be contacted by police about the accident.
He is best known for riding Kiwi to victory in the 1983 Melbourne Cup but his reputation suffered due to his links to infamous drugs kingpin Victor Spink.
Spink, who punted millions on races, was jailed in the 1990s for his part in the jockey tapes scandal - a series of recordings made by Australian police which revealed links between leading racing figures and organised crime.
Cassidy was banned from racing for three years, which was later reduced to 21 months.
