Woman in Wheelchair Prayed for Help Before Out-of-Control Car Missed Her by Inches
An Arizona woman is thanking God for her life after she narrowly escaped a dangerous wreck when a car spun out of control and headed straight for her.
Surveillance footage from a nearby camera caught the heart-stopping moment Laura Smith, who was riding her electric wheelchair down the sidewalk, barely avoided being rammed by a stranger’s car.
The vehicle plunged straight into the bus stop Smith was riding past, injuring another bystander in the process. The car’s driver says that her brakes failed and she swerved to avoid crashing into another vehicle, ultimately crossing the street to smash into the bus stop.
The car was traveling at a high speed and if it had hit anyone directly, the outcome would have likely been deadly.
Breaking: driver plows into bus stop, injuring one man who was waiting there, near 32nd St and Van Buren. Driver stayed on scene, witnesses say man was lucky to survive. Bus stop was completely uprooted and mangled #FOX10Phoenix pic.twitter.com/17GQN8Ph1a
— Nicole Garcia Fox10 (@Fox10_NicoleG) August 23, 2019
Smith, miraculously, escaped without a scratch, as the car narrowly missed her, striking the wheel of her electric wheelchair instead.
“The wheel is slightly off-balance, but I’m alive,” she told KSAZ-TV.
The unnamed man received only minimal injuries and did not even have to go to the hospital. A nearby witness, Mike Johnson, told KSAZ-TV that the man “got out of the way just in time,” or his injuries could have been much worse — even fatal.
“All things considered, I’ve seen a lot of injuries like this happen,” Johnson added. “His injuries were minimal for this type of accident. He was very lucky.”
The bus stop was completely destroyed.
However, the fact that both Smith and the other bystander escaped without serious harm is being called a miracle.
“Everybody’s telling me you need to go buy some lottery tickets,” she said.
But Smith knows it wasn’t luck that saved her life that day. And during the terrifying moment, she knew exactly what to do.
She saw the car flying towards her, “Aiming straight at me,” she said. “I thought it was gonna hit me.”
Instantly, Smith prayed. She didn’t know if she would make it out alive, but she knew she had to trust God.
“Balled up my fist and closed my eyes,” she said. “And said, ‘Please Lord help me.'”
Immediately, her prayer was answered. The car missed her by inches, leaving Smith with nothing more than a cracked wheel on her scooter.
On the other hand, the damage to the car was extensive. But all involved are simply grateful to have escaped with their lives.
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