You might recall the fascinating story surrounding a mysterious priest who appeared at the scene of a car crash back in 2013, prayed for the badly injured victim trapped inside one of the vehicles and then seemingly vanished.
Media outlets around the globe speculated as to whether the priest, who was seen by multiple witnesses at the scene but left as quickly as he first emerged, was actually an angel who came to comfort victim Katie Lentz in the wake of the horrific crash.
Days later, though, it was revealed that the priest was the Rev. Patrick Dowling of the Diocese of Jefferson County.
And this week, Lentz, who is now an administrator for MLB’s Baseball Assistance Team, spoke out in detail about Dowling, the crash that deeply impacted her life and her decision to forgive the man who hit her head-on, telling the “Sports Spectrum Podcast” that she’s lucky to be alive.
Listen to Lentz share her amazing story below:
“I was trapped in my car for over two hours. Honestly it is a miracle that I’m here today,” she said. “My doctors told me it was a miracle that I survived. My doctors say I should be dead, brain dead or paralyzed.”
After getting hit head on, Lentz recalled being badly injured and unable to speak as paramedics and firefighters worked for two hours to free her. Bystanders stayed with her and prayed and about an hour into the ordeal, Lentz recalled how the mystery priest arrived at the scene.
“While I was trapped in my car … there was a priest who stopped by the scene of the accieent and he prayed for me,” she said, noting that the world became captivated after reports that no one saw the clergy member drive up or leave and didn’t know his identity. “It became known as the ‘mystery priest story’ and it went viral.”
She revealed that she has since struck up a friendship with Dowling and the two later reunited.
Lentz also described her difficult decision to forgive the drunk driver who impacted her life so profoundly, noting that he apologized and that she eventually came to terms and offered her forgiveness. She also shared that the judge in the case allowed her to decide the man’s fate.
“The judge … let me decide what happened to him,” she said. “I could either send him to jail for five years or I could send him to a rehabilitation program.”
In the end, she chose the second option, as she wanted him to receive the help he needed.
“I really believe I’ve forgiven him in my heart,” Lentz said.