Man Recovering After Being Crushed By RV

GRASS VALLEY, Calif. (CBS13) -- A man is recovering in the hospital after being seriously hurt when his RV crushed him over the weekend.

Todd Sutter hadn't used his RV in years, so he used jacks and blocks of wood Sunday to raise the vehicle up for an inspection, according to his wife, Amy.

"Just decided to go out and jack it up," she said. "We've been talking about it for two years now."

An old piece of wood holding up the 16,000-pound vehicle crumbled without warning, crushing Todd. Amy didn't hear her husband's screams, but a couple of neighbors walking the neighborhood did.

"This poor woman was hysterical. If she hadn't come by though who knows how long he would've been out there," Amy said. "I could tell he was alive, he's yelling, but he kept saying, 'I'm dying.'"

Suffering from 12 broken ribs, a broken pelvic bone and a crushed clavicle, Todd couldn't pull free his key to his tool shed, where he stored another jack.

When Grass Valley fire fighters arrived, they turned to a Kevlar airbag -- capable of lifting up to 20 tons -- to raise the heavy vehicle. Todd was flown to the ER for treatment and is expected to survive.

"He's alive, it's a miracle," Amy said.

It will take months for Todd to fully recover, Amy said.