Kelly Bensimon recently experienced a terrifying encounter with reality.
The “Golden Life” star from E! and well-known chef Andrew Molen found themselves injured on Monday afternoon following a severe head-on collision in Sarasota, Florida.
Sources reveal that the duo was in an Uber that turned left onto the busy Tamiami Trail, only to be hit by an oncoming vehicle. The impact was strong enough to deploy the airbags.
The accident resulted in Bensimon, Molen, and the driver of the other car being transported to the hospital.
Reflecting on the incident, Bensimon expressed her gratitude, stating, “I’m lucky to have walked away alive.”
“My right arm is a mess,” the real estate agent tells us. “My head went straight into the back of the seat. It was really bad. I was unconscious for a couple seconds. I was freaking out. I thought I broke my arm.”
The former “Real Housewives of New York City” star says doctors performed X-rays on her arm and a CAT scan at the hospital.
When we spoke Tuesday, she was still reeling.
“I am totally out of it, I am in so much pain,” she said. “My head went back and banged [Andrew] on his chin. There were makeup marks on the airbag.”
Molen— a classically trained chef who swapped restaurant life to be a private chef for the ultra wealthy — saw the car coming and yelled “brake, brake,” the pair recalled.
“[The other car] came straight on,” Molen claimed. “You didn’t hear brakes screech. He came straight in at full blast. We got hit so hard. Kelly went flying. I hit the ceiling. Airbags went off. There was dust everywhere.”
Molen continued, “Kelly was out cold. She kept falling back,” he said, “The car spun.”
Molen tells us he hurt his neck and will be going back to the doctor. He has already canceled five events this week.
“I am in a lot of pain,” he said. “They had to help us into ambulances.”
We’re told the driver of the other car was taken into an ambulance in a stretcher.
Both cars were Buicks.
Bensimon was in town for an open house for her $22 million listing at 3315 Bay Shore Road. Molen was serving up food and doing kitchen demonstrations for the event.
The pair were also filming an episode for a digital lifestyle series they are developing called “The Chef and the Housewife,” which “goes beyond showcasing extraordinary properties by bringing ultra-high-net-worth living to life through food, entertaining, design, and the experiences that define exceptional homes,” according to a release.
Sarasota Police tell Page Six that the crash report is still in progress. Uber did not respond to a request for comment.