'Just unreal:' Woman survives after her car was folded in half in crash with semi-truck
A Washington woman survived a collision with two semi-trucks that caused her vehicle to fold over itself.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Rocky Oliphant shared on Twitter this week that “there’s really not a word to describe this collision,” tweeting images of a semi-truck on top of a crushed red Nissan Altima.
Oliphant confirmed to Paste BN that, as traffic slowed in Mount Vernon, Washington, the woman driving the Nissan was behind one semi-truck and in front of another. The first truck slowed down on the Skagit River Bridge, as did the woman in the car.
But the rear semi-truck “was following too close” and could not slow down before striking her car, Oliphant said.
"The momentum of the semi continued forward and basically caused the Nissan Altima’s rear corner of the car to fold on top of itself,” he said. “After that happened, the semi-truck continued forward on top of the car."
“The rubber seal for the trunk was actually resting on the driver's headrest, so that's how close the metal came when it folded to her head,” he added.
A Washington state patrol trooper approached the wrecked vehicle after the collision and heard the driver calling for help, Oliphant said. After a tow truck lifted the front of the semi-truck, the Altima driver was able to get out of the car through an opening on the passenger side of the car.
The woman was taken to a hospital with pain in her ribs and head, and a laceration on her face, but she did not sustain serious injuries, he said.
“Not only surviving but being able to walk from the car is just unreal, beyond words to describe that someone could walk away from that,” Oliphant said.
The image quickly spread on social media, with reporters and others shocked by the crash.
The driver of the rear semi-truck was cited by officials for following other vehicles too closely.