LAKELAND — A person could say Daniel Curto has nine lives. If that is the case, the Lakeland resident has four left.

Curto, 68, no stranger to brushes with death, still considers himself lucky.

“I’m still here,” Curto said.

Just this year, Curto has had to face the infection MRSA.

But his first brush with the ever after happened in 1964, when the then 23-year-old was an employee at Ford Motor Company in New Jersey.

At the Ford plant, Curto’s job was unlocking freight cars and loading car spindles. While moving a couple tons of car parts through the facility, Curto did not see a hole at the bottom of the ramp. When the dolly hit the hole, a basket filled with a ton and a half of car parts fell directly on Curto.

“I was in the hospital for seven months,” he said. “The priest came twice to give me last rites.”

The ton and a half of steel gave Curto a fractured skull and a concussion, busted out all of his teeth, along with various other broken bones throughout his body.

Curto was later told that it took 20 minutes to move the car parts off his body. Even after the accident, Curto continued to work at Ford and was employed there for 15 years.

Curto was born in Perth Amboy, N.J., in 1941. He would live in New Jersey until 1978 when he moved.

After leaving Ford, Curto struck out for South Florida. While driving a taxi, Curto found his next place of employment.

By picking up a man that owned Florida City Exotic Animals, Curto had a job with him by the end of the ride. He helped pick up purchased animals and took care of everything from orangutans and chimpanzees to camels and llamas.

“I was the overseer. I built cages and made sure the animals were fed and picked them up when he purchased them,” Curto said. “It was a fantastic job.”

Curto spent four years with the exotic animal dealer before the owner passed away.

Contemplating his next employment move, Curto decided to apply at Homestead Air Reserve Base, since he had ties to the military.