Witt was leaving the team's Center City hotel and crossing Arch Street when he was hit by a gold SUV.
"I had the right of way, going across the pedestrian line, and I saw there was a gold Tahoe or Yukon was trying to get in the left lane to turn, and decided to turn, and in the corner of my eye, I saw it and jumped up and took the brunt of it," Witt said. "I did a nice roll and dismount. It was OK."
Witt said that while he saw the truck coming, he still was stunned by what was happening.
"It was weird, like slow-motion," he said. "I just reacted by bracing myself by jumping up and taking the brunt of the force and just rolling. Got up, realized I was OK, was like, 'Is this going on for real?' Then I threw out some profanities at the guy."
One witness told Newsday, "It was like seeing Clint Eastwood, but in hockey."
"People are rushing around to make sure I was OK; that was nice for people in Philly to come to your aid," Witt said. "They asked if they should call an ambulance. I said I'm OK, don't worry about it. Just got my coffee and that was it."
Witt said the driver apologized, and the defenseman said he wasn't going to file a police report.
"I think he's lucky that I was OK," Witt said. "He's happy I was OK. He apologized."
After successfully getting his coffee, Witt went to the Wachovia Center for the Isles' morning skate and was in the lineup Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-2, 223-pound defenseman, who is second on the Isles with 56 hits and third with 50 blocked shots, tried to play down what happened.
"I didn't look, but I might have put a dent in his truck," Witt said.
Contact Adam Kimelman at akimelman@nhl.com.
