Davin Taylor has been driving trucks for 13 years. He’d never been in a major crash until this afternoon. It was a spectacular, unforgettable one, mainly because for all of the crash’s apparent violence, the victim, a young woman in her 20s, somehow survived almost unscathed.
Taylor was driving his truck north on I-95 at 4:30 p.m. today. He had just driven past the Palm Coast Parkway intersection, and was about a mile or so south of the newly opened Matanzas Woods intersection. The young woman–a Florida Highway Patrol investigator at the scene did not yet have her identity–was driving a burgundy Hyundai Elantra, somewhat parallel to Taylor’s truck. She was on the furthest inside lane of I-95’s three northbound lanes. Taylor was driving in the center lane.
For a reason that hasn’t been determined, the FHP investigator said, the woman lost control of the Elantra, sending it onto the guardrail. The collision caused the car to bounce back into traffic–right against, and under, Taylor’s tractor trailer. The Elentra ended up partly catapulting through the trailer’s midsection and smashing against its rear wheels, with the top of the car sheared off. The Elantra’s front actually traveled far enough to jut out of the other side of the truck.
“I felt it. I didn’t see it,” Taylor said. “She hit the guard rail, when she hit it I knew I needed to get over, once I got over, that’s when I actually felt the impact.”
Taylor was traveling between 65 and 70 mph. He couldn’t stop immediately, given the truck’s momentum. So the truck traveled another quarter mile as it came to a stop in the right shoulder. (The truck, which was not damaged, belongs to the Brown Trucking Company of Georgia. The trailer, which was empty, was slightly damaged. The woman’s vehicle is registered in New Jersey.)
“You could see it when you looked through the rear-view mirror, you could see the sparks,” Taylor said. His reaction when the wreck unfolded? “I’m, like oh, shit, I hope she’s OK. I mean, you know, you look at it like that, I’ve seen accidents to where maybe she didn’t duck, maybe her head–you just don’t know. It’s my first major accident.” Put another way, the victim could have been decapitated. The top of the car was.
Yet she survived with hardly any injuries. The trooper said she was taken to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach only for precautionary reasons, but that otherwise she was “breathing, talking, conscious and all that.” Flagler County Fire Rescue and Palm Coast Fire Department firefighter-paramedics, who responded to the call, had to cut the left side of the vehicle in order to extract the victim, who was then placed on a stretcher and driven south.
“I think she had a scrape on her elbow, as far as that that’s all I saw,” Taylor said. “She was coherent, she was OK.”
“Everything is OK. As long as she’s OK, I’m fine,” Taylor said.
The wreck restricted northbound traffic to one lane after 4:30 p.m. By 6:15, when salvage crews arrived, traffic had backed up three miles.
Oh WOW says
Thank GOD no one was hurt. That is a MIRACLE. GOD was watching over Her.
Agnese says
Terrifying, thankfully they both are OK
Josey says
Amazing, praise the Lord!
pc'er says
Awesome photography!
Bev says
Thank God no one was hurt! This young lady had a angel watching over her
Maryjayne & Enrique Rosito says
Glad everyone’s OK the car can be replaced this time or year you really have to be careful because there’s a lot of young drivers on the road being that school is out not sure of the situation here but have to watch the young kids many young kids are not responsible drivers I’ve seen several today racing for no reason at all and they wonder why their insurance rates are so high now I see …
starryidgirl says
Miracles DO happen!!! Thank you, God!!
Jacqui says
God had His hand upon her! Thank God she is ok, and so is the truck driver!
Larry says
I have to laugh every time I see something like this and someone says God was watching over them. If God was really watching over them this would not have happened.
Andrew says
I seen this happen today the whole thing crazy glad she’s ok
Tired of it says
That is one very lucky young lady.
David S says
God was on her side.
Jackie says
OMG she definitely had angels on her side! Thats absolutely amazing she is OK! Miracles do happen!
Mary K says
This shows that miracles still happen, and also shows us to be careful when driving.
Zenara G says
I pass by this yesterday and the person driving this car was on my mind all night. I woke up this morning to see if there was any fatalities and to my surprise there wasn’t. I am so elated to hear she walked away from this accident with minor injuries. -Z-
Geezer says
Was she wearing her seat-belt with shoulder restraint?
I’m no expert but it seems as if she wasn’t, that oversight may have saved her
life by allowing her to duck to the right, avoiding a decapitation.
As far as “ducking” goes–maybe the inertia from hitting the guard rail
caused her to involuntarily duck. We’re talking milliseconds here–probably
not enough time to react and duck purposefully…..
That is one lucky “Jersey driver.”
Marshea says
This is my girl friend and all glory to God she is OK we pray everyday in God was holding her and her cat made it as well
Pericles Xanthippou says
Don’t forget the truck driver: his cool response to the situation likely made a huge contribution to the girl’s survival. Had he simply slammed on the brakes, as many might have, she and her ’car might well have been slammed in to the after wheels of the rig and then … who knows?
His reaction — allowing a braking distance of perhaps eight times the minimum — undoubtedly made a major contribution to her survival … along with a shipping load of luck!
ΠΞ
theevoice says
GOD is great..AMEN!!!
shark says
Probably texting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Barbara says
No shark says, she wasn’t texting!!! This is my daughter. Trooper said witnesses at the scene said she was cut off by a white Mustang. Anyone with information about this individual, please contact the Florida Highway Patrol. Truly amazing she survived and didn’t have a scratch.
Geezer says
Barbara:
I am so glad that your daughter is o.k..
Best wishes and luck to you both!
Queen.diamond__ says
hey I’m the girl who got in the accident. There’s only 2 lanes on that highway and I was cut off by a white mustang convertible with a black soft top who slammed on they breaks and the fled the scene when I lost control. With Jesus Christ you can do anything. God bless America. Instagram : queen.diamond__