Automobile Accident
Campanella lived in Glen Cove, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, while operating a liquor store in Harlem between regular-season games and during the off-season. On January 28, 1958, after closing the store for the night, he began his drive to his home in Glen Cove. En route, traveling at about 30 mph (48 km/h), his car (a rented 1957 Chevrolet sedan) hit a patch of ice at an S-curve on Dosoris Lane near Apple Tree Lane, skidded into a telephone pole and overturned, breaking Campanella's neck. He fractured the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae and compressed the spinal cord. The accident left Campanella paralyzed from the shoulders down. Through physical therapy, he eventually was able to regain substantial use of his arms and hands. He was able to feed himself, shake hands, and gesture while speaking, but he would require a wheelchair for mobility for the remainder of his life.
Read more about this topic: Roy Campanella
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