A father who said he was simply defending his daughter remains in the hospital after he was allegedly run over by her boyfriend.
While the accused hit-skip driver sits in jail, the father sits in a Cleveland hospital. He told newsnet5.com's Chris Flanagan he's lucky to be alive.
Andrew Griffin has two shattered legs and a busted knee cap, but not a broken spirit.
"It's like rebuilding the $6 million man. Know what I'm saying? If they can get me back on my feet, I'm cool," Griffin said.
Griffin still can't shake the thought of nearly being killed. He said his daughter got into a fight with her boyfriend while leaving the Cleveland Clinic last week. He was helping her when he got out of his car.
"Next thing I know, he (the suspect) steps on the gas and pins me up against the car, and in the process of doing that, he kept his foot on the gas," Griffin said. "He was actually trying to push the car in me out into traffic."
Griffin knows the driver, but not well. He said they had no beef with each other and is floored by what happened.
"I'm really mad at him, like that, but I'm mad at him because all this could've been avoided," Griffin said. "All you had to do was let her get out of the car and get in the car with us and take her home with me," he added about his daughter.
Griffin credited the staff at University Hospitals with taking great care of him.
"I'm trying to keep my spirit up, try to keep a sense of humor, laugh everyday. It's hard. Being in bed is no joke," Griffin said.
Griffin has one more surgery scheduled for his left leg. He said he hopes to walk again soon.
The accused hit-skip driver remains in jail.
