Bob’s Burgers voice actor Eugene Mirman says he is “extraordinarily thankful to the heroic people” that pulled him from the wreckage of his fiery car crash on Tuesday at a New Hampshire toll plaza – an accident that reportedly left him with serious injuries.
The 51-year-old comedian expressed his gratitude in an Instagram post late on Friday morning, which also described his being emotionally buoyed up by “the well wishes, love and kind messages from friends and strangers” in the wake of the wreck.
“I am thankful beyond words to be here and doing relatively alright, all things considered,” Mirman also wrote. He made it a point to crack a couple of jokes, adding: “I don’t have my phone, so [I] haven’t been online much. I do not recommend my method of decreasing screen-time.
“If you’re a friend who sent a kind, loving message, you should know that it was hard to not respond with, ‘I’d love to be on your podcast.’”
Just before noon on the day of the crash, Mirman and the electric vehicle he was driving struck a Bedford toll plaza and ignited, authorities have said. New Hampshire’s governor, Kelly Ayotte, and her security detail happened to drive up on the crash scene shortly thereafter, and a state trooper joined two bystanders in pulling Mirman out of his burning car through a window, according to a police official.
Local news outlet WCAX obtained video footage of the immediate aftermath of the crash. It showed Mirman’s car completely destroyed as bright orange flames engulfed it and plumes of thick, black smoke billowed into the air.
A statement from Mirman’s agent, Jay Glassner, on Wednesday said the actor had been brought to the hospital and was recovering from the injuries he suffered during his “very scary car accident”.
“He wants to thank the bystanders, state police, first responders and hospital staff who saved him,” Glassner’s statement continued. “He is grateful to be on the mend.”
Col Mark Hall of New Hampshire state police hailed Mirman’s rescuers as “heroic”, saying: “Without hesitation, they put themselves in danger to render aid to someone who was in need of it.”
Ayotte, meanwhile, issued a statement praising the trooper on her security detail as well as the bystanders for their “brave life-saving efforts”.
Mirman echoed Hall’s, Glassner’s and Ayotte’s remarks in his Instagram post on Friday, which contained his first public comments about a crash that captured national media attention.
“I am extraordinarily thankful to the heroic people that pulled me from the car and to the warm, kind and talented staff at the hospital that cared for me and got me on the mend,” Mirman wrote. He signed off his post with: “I love you all and please take care of yourselves, Eugene.”
Alongside Mirman’s post was a photo depicting him with bandages around his right forearm, wrist and middle finger. Furthermore, he held up a children’s picture book titled Life Is an Adventure.
Mirman – whose given first name is Evgeniy – was born in Moscow, grew up in Massachusetts and has gained fame for voicing the character Gene Belcher in more than 300 episodes of the animated comedy Bob’s Burgers. He also voices Belcher in The Bob’s Burgers Movie and has had roles on the TV series Flight of the Conchords, Delocated and Archer.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
