NEW ORLEANS (WLBT/Gray News) – A couple visiting New Orleans says they are lucky to be alive after surviving the terrorist attack on New Year’s Day.
Jacob and Jessica Wilson were walking along Bourbon Street when they noticed a large white truck headed straight for them.
“It had to be going 100 miles an hour when it came through,” Jacob Wilson said. “A lot of people were on the ground already. You could tell they were deceased.”
Authorities said the truck was being driven by Shamsud-Din Jabaar, who had maneuvered around the New Orleans Police Department barricades to plow into as many people as possible.
He crashed about 30 feet away from where the Wilsons were after the truck clipped Jacob Wilson’s ankle.
“I don’t know if he was aiming for the officers where he crashed. When he hit, all the officers spread around, and all of a sudden, we looked over and there was rapid gunfire,” Jacob Wilson said. “I guess they got him.”
Jessica Wilson added, “God saved us. [The driver] crashed next to us. He had explosives in his truck that did not go off … we are blessed to be here.”
Jacob and Jessica Wilson were visiting New Orleans to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary.
Going to the Crescent City to take in the annual New Year’s fireworks display had become an annual tradition.
This year, the couple had just missed the fireworks but still decided to take a stroll through the French Quarter.
“Everyone was having fun and laughing. People were really nice, passing out beads and drinks. It was the happiest I’ve ever seen people,” Jessica Wilson said. “We were telling people, ‘Happy new year.’ Random people were hugging us and telling us ‘Happy new year.’ It was really a fun night.”
The couple said they were particularly enjoying talking to all of the football fans who were also in town for the Sugar Bowl.
“We met people from Ole Miss, Mississippi State … Georgia people were walking everywhere,” Jessica Wilson said. “There were a lot of people walking around.”
The couple decided to call it a night around 3 a.m. when some of the businesses in the area were starting to shut down.
They were only feet away from where Jabaar would eventually crash when something told them to move to the sidewalk and start heading back.
A short distance from Rick’s Cabaret, they noticed the truck barreling toward them.
“The driver veered to the left to hit us, then turned right to crash,” Jacob Wilson said.
Jessica Wilson added, “It looked like a big, white train had derailed and it was coming right at us.”
The couple said their initial thoughts were the driver was “messed up and just crashed.” Then, gunfire broke out.
Jessica Wilson said her husband helped get her out of the way and told her that they’ve “Got to get out of here or we’re going to die.”
The couple sought cover in Rick’s Cabaret. They pushed their way as club owners were barricading the doors.
“New Orleans cops were everywhere. I don’t understand how it even happened,” Jessica Wilson said. “There were more police than I’ve ever seen, and he still somehow accomplished it.”
Later, they learned a bullet had gone through the window they were standing before going into the club.
“We’re coping because we’re happy that we’re alive,” Jessica Wilson said. “We have two kids that we came home to. What if we didn’t come home to our children? My mom would be raising them right now. I can’t imagine how many families are in shock, mourning their loved ones.”
Jacob Wilson said his ankle remains swollen, but he can walk.
“I’m a lot better than a lot of other people are,” he said.
Copyright 2025 WLBT via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.