In 1981, some months after Roberts began living with Dennis, he became involved in a debilitating car accident near their home. His ordeal was described by "People" magazine years later as “a month-long hospital stay after a bad car accident in 1981. ‘I tried to climb a tree in a CJ-5 name for his Jeep,’ he says. Leaving the Wilton, Conn, house of his then girlfriend, actress Sandy Dennis, 44 at the time, Eric hopped into his doorless Jeep for a ride with her German shepherd. The dog leaned out too far. Roberts released the steering wheel to get a hold on the wayward pooch and ended up in a coma for three days.” Dennis, an animal lover who cared for a lot of dogs and cats, was relieved to learn her German shepherd was not injured in the accident. After Roberts recovered, his live-in relationship with Dennis lasted a few more years.