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Local 99.5 QYK radio host's daughter survived Las Vegas massacre

Presley Kapsalis was celebrating her 21st birthday
Posted at 7:28 PM, Oct 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-03 10:36:11-04

A Bay Area radio host was at the Route 91 Music Festival just hours before the bullets started flying

Tom "Cadillac Jack" Kapsalis, of ABC Action News Radio Partners 99.5 QYK flew out of Las Vegas on Sunday after attending two days of the festival. He was there with his daughter, Presley Kapsalis, who was celebrating her 21st birthday. 

His daughter opted to stay for the third day of the festival. She was there when bullets started firing into the crowd.

"I almost feel helpless not being there," Cadillac Jack told ABC Action News. "I wish I could've been there. "

Cadillac Jack talked to her on the air Monday about what she experienced.

"It sounded like firecrackers," Presley told her dad. "It started up close and people started looking around wondering what was happening.”

She told her father that her boyfriend was shielding her from gun fire by throwing himself on top of her.

"Yeah, everyone was crying and trying to take cover." she said. "He was able to lay over me."

She said her group of friends managed to escape by running to the nearby House of Blues to seek shelter.

Now, Presley, who is studying to be a nurse and lives in Las Vegas, is encouraging everyone she knows to donate blood.

In the meantime, Cadillac Jack is working to raise awareness about fundraising efforts and blood donation here in the bay area.