He was flying solo in his twin-engine Cessna from California to Las Vegas when he developed a mechanical problem and decided to make a precautionary landing on a dirt road near a housing complex in the small community of Prescott Valley in northern Arizona. There were no injuries. Fire department and sheriff's department officials said the plane had a damaged wing and that when they arrived on the scene, they could find no one. It later emerged that Patrick had hitched a ride from a passing vehicle and was taken to a nearby house, where he telephoned authorities. [2000]
Personal quotes:
[in 2004, about his drinking] I made a conscious decision to break away from big films when I got alcohol out of my life. I had been sucked into the blockbuster, box-office mentality and it was destroying my sense of purpose in life. The loneliness of fame was messing with my head. Once you've been famous for a while and told your story, it can sound like a lie. You don't know what's true. It sounds like an article someone wrote rather than the essence of who you are.
I have a great deal of faith in faith; if you believe something strongly enough, it becomes true for you. I would like to believe that my father is right here with me in this room and that he's my guardian angel, that there's life after death -- because if there isn't, why are we here? I don't believe that just flesh and bones can contain from the point of view of physics this very real recorded energy inside of us. Whether it's true or not, we need to believe it.
