Rick Allen of Def Leppard has spoken publicly about the assault he suffered in Florida in March .
The drummer gave an interview to Good Morning America where he recounted the moment of the incident in detail (translation via Whiplash ):
“I heard some footsteps. And then I saw a dark flash. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground. I fell on my back and hit my head on the sidewalk… I reached my hand up because I thought I was going to be attacked again. And I just said, ‘I’m not a threat to you.’ I think he didn’t know who I was. But he must have seen that I wasn’t a threat because, you know, I only have one arm.”
Allen suffered a serious car accident in 1984 and lost his left arm. He was only 21 years old and had been the drummer for Def Leppard since he was 15.
Also in the interview, Rick Allen says he immediately felt grateful for his wife and family after escaping alive from the incident. "I started thanking a Higher Power for the fact that I'm still alive," he reveals.
The suspect in the assault is Max Hartley . In court, Hartley pleaded "not guilty," and his lawyer argued that the young man "has never had any trouble with the law before."