Jordan Stannard said he is grateful his 2-year-old daughter was not hurt.
LOS ANGELES — A 38-year-old father lost his left foot and ankle after pushing his 2-year-old daughter to safety when an out-of-control truck crashed toward them in Venice, according to local reports.
Jordan Stannard was putting his daughter, Sadie, into the family car near Venice Boulevard and Abbot Kinney Boulevard after a grocery trip when he heard a crash and saw a GMC truck coming toward them. His wife was on the other side of the car with their newborn daughter, Shae.
Stannard said he acted on instinct. “I literally just threw her into the car,” he told ABC7. The truck hit him moments later, throwing him to the pavement and badly damaging his left foot. Sadie was not hurt.
The truck had first struck a Mercedes SUV that was waiting for a parking spot, according to reports. It then veered toward Stannard and his daughter. Stannard said he remembered seeing the truck coming, then feeling the impact. He later said his foot looked nearly destroyed after the crash.
Emergency workers and bystanders helped at the scene. Stannard credited a nurse, an off-duty lifeguard and firefighters with helping save his life. He was taken to UCLA Medical Center, where doctors amputated his left foot and ankle. His right foot also was injured, though less severely.
Stannard, a former marathon runner and Ironman athlete, is now recovering and working toward using a prosthetic. He said the injury changed his life, but not his focus as a father. “If you told me, ‘You just have to trade your foot to be with your daughters for the rest of your life,’ that’s a trade that I would make all day long,” he said.
His family has launched a fundraiser to help with medical costs, recovery needs and temporary housing. Relatives said the family’s three-story condominium is not suitable for his recovery, and they are looking for a single-story home while he heals.
Stannard said he wants his daughters to remember him as strong, not angry. He has set a goal of running the Los Angeles Marathon next year after he is fitted for a prosthetic. No further public update on the crash investigation had been released.
Author note: Last updated July 2, 2026.