After Nice chaos, relatives in agonizing search for missing

NICE, France (AP) — Stephane Erbs was heading back to his car with his wife, Rachel, and their two children after the Bastille Day fireworks display in Nice when he saw the white truck bearing down on them.

His first instinct was to throw his 7-year-old son, Celion, out of harm's way, while his wife pushed their daughter, 12-year-old Noemi, to safety.

"My wife told me, 'Look at that truck!' It was coming very fast. We just had time to throw the children," the 42-year-old Frenchman told The Associated Press. "After that, everything was confused."

The boy suffered a scrape on his hand, his daughter was unharmed, but a day after the Thursday night attack, his 40-year-old wife was nowhere to be found.

Erbs said he threw Celion "in the direction of the wall" next to the beach that runs along the southern French city's famous promenade. He saw bodies being tossed in the air by the truck – he couldn't say how many.

"It was like a video game. It was crazy. Like a war situation," he said.

The truck's bumper hit Erbs in the back as he tossed his son to safety, breaking seven ribs, leaving his shirt in tatters and his skin shredded. The truck's tires slashed his jeans and tore the shoes off his feet. The pain was intense.

Today, Erbs and the children stood outside the Pasteur Hospital where they were treated, still wearing their hospital bracelets. His ribs were wrapped, he was wearing a white shirt and sneakers donated by the hospital, and they were joined by his wife's parents as they waited to hear where Rachel might be.