Jamie Redknapp feared the worst when his beloved father Harry was involved in a road accident which killed four people nearly 30 years ago.
The former Liverpool player was 16 years old when he was told the terrible news from Italy.
The smash, which cost former West Ham player Brian Tiller and three Italians their lives in 1990, still haunts the I'm A Celebrity winner.
The family have been opening up about the accident on Piers Morgan's Life Stories.
Harry, 72, was left in a coma - and teenage son Jamie fainted and was later left in tears when the reality of the situation hit home.
"He was in a coma for a few days," the football pundit, who played in Soccer Aid on Sunday, said.
"I didn't like seeing him in that situation. It was difficult.
"We were so proud to have him back, but he wasn't able to manage for a while.
"It was difficult time all around, which I don't think a lot of people realised.
"He didn't even speak to us about it. It was one of his best mates. It was awful."
Harry recalled the day which nearly cost him his life with his close pal taking his seat on the doomed bus.
The King of the Jungle said: "We were about to get on the bus and I stopped to start talking to some Irish fans and Brian was saying 'come on Harry, we've got to go.'
"I carried on talking. I often think to myself what if I hadn't carried on talking and got on the bus when they were calling me.
"I remember him saying 'I've nicked your seat, you're going to have to sit over there'.
"It was a horrendous tragedy for me losing him and the three young kids in the other car."
Harry's wife Sandra also spoke about the impact on young Jamie at the time.
"When Jamie saw him, he passed out," she said.
Piers Morgan: Life Stories continues on ITV Saturdays at 9.30pm.
