Semi-Truck 'Falls From Sky,' Car Crushed Underneath with Woman Still Trapped Inside
The highways where I live are mostly two lanes. The last 15 years have been spent widening the increasingly busy passage into Wine Country California, creating a never-ending cycle of road construction.
One of the most unnerving things to do is pass a semi-truck in one of these construction zones. In the rain, it can be terrifying.
On the streets, however, I don’t give the freeway much thought. There are plenty of places where one must drive under the freeway, but you just don’t think about trouble on the freeway landing in your roadway.
That’s exactly what happened on a road that feeds into Highway 59 in Sugar Land, Texas, on Jan. 11. Out of nowhere, a semi that had been on the above highway “fell from the sky,” trapping a white Toyota.
NEW: Tractor-trailer drives off 59 Southwest Freeway overpass in Sugar Land, Texas; Injuries Unknown – KPRC pic.twitter.com/763IMV19cs
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 11, 2018
Inside was a scared woman whose door was stuck. She was trapped.
Lori Lowery and her mother were driving by at the time, witnessed the horrific event, stopped, and jumped into action.
Lowery was able to access the back of the vehicle due to a split in the semi’s metal frame.
Lowery coached the traumatized woman out of the car. “I told her to come through into the back seat, it’s going to be okay, we’re here for you,” she recalled.
Remarkably she did not appear to be terribly injured. She was seen at the hospital but has since been released and is resting at home.
The cause of this bizarre accident is still under investigation, but preliminary reports believe that the semi went over the highway’s edge due to a 3-car collision on the overpass.
The semi’s driver was able to exit the vehicle and was seen for minor injuries.
It’s a miracle when you think of everything that could have gone wrong. Even if the semi truck had fallen off the freeway and there hadn’t been anyone below, it still could’ve been a fatal incident.
When I put myself in the shoes of the Lowery or the woman trapped in her car, I can’t help but think that I’d freeze.
Even if I wanted to help, I’ve have been shocked, scared, and afraid of what I might have found if I’d approached the car.
Thankfully, Lowery was not only at the right place at the right time, the nursing student knew how to put her cool-headed training into practice at a moment’s notice.
She’s going to make a fine nurse — and given her performance, she’d do well in the ER.
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