Steeple Victim: Happy to Be Alive

Man Whose Car Was Crumpled when Church Steeple Fell on It During Twister Recalls "Being Crushed into a Little Ball"

(CBS)  Michael Williams had the closest of calls when a tornado swept through Shreveport, La. last week, but lived to tell about his brush with death.

During a news conference from his hospital bed, the 57-year-old who survived when a 12-ton church steeple fell on and crushed his car says he's thankful to still be alive.

"The only memory I have is being crushed into a little ball inside my car," Williams said, adding that he tries not to think about the event itself, and instead, to focus on the rescuers who saved his life.

"It's the image of all the fire department men and women who cut me out of that vehicle. That's one image I do remember and I will hold onto it for the rest of my life," Williams says.

And while the act of God almost took his life, notes CBS News Correspondent Don Teague, Williams credits the love of his family, and total strangers, with saving it.

"I'm here for a reason," Williams observed. "I just don't know what it is yet, and I'll let you know when I find out."

Williams, who's in a full body cast, suffered a broken back, wrist and foot. Doctors say his spine injury should heal without surgery.