Jazz saxophonist Boney James has been released from hospital following a collision with a drunk driver on Saturday night (15May10).
The musician was on his way home after performing at the Newport Beach Summer Jazz Festival in California when he was rear-ended by a speeding motorist on the 405 freeway.
James suffered cuts and bruises, broken teeth and a fractured jaw in the accident.
He was pulled from his BMW by passersby and taken to hospital by paramedics, who quickly arrived at the crash site.
James later learned that though his car had been wrecked, the prized saxophones in his trunk were undamaged.
He says, "I'm lucky I wasn’t killed. I just had a near death experience and am relatively unscathed."
The musician was released from hospital on Sunday (16May10) with 14 stitches on his chin, and he visited his dentist, Dr. Amy Roberts, who temporarily replaced his two front teeth, which were damaged in the crash.
As a result of the accident, James' show in Columbia, South Carolina on 21 May (10) has been cancelled, and the status of a show in Sacramento, California next month (Jun10) is to be announced pending his orthodontist’s evaluation later this week.