Dashboard Camera Captures Head-On New Hampshire Crash
PELHAM, NH (CBS) — It happened in a split second— so fast that 27-year-old Peterson Campbell says it was tough to comprehend what his own dash-camera recorded on Tuesday.
The camera captured a Kia crossing the center line at around 4:30 PM on Sherburne Road in Pelham, New Hampshire, barreling right into Campbell's Dodge truck.
"It was pretty much a blur," Campbell said.
And to add to the terror, Peterson said he had no place to go. Drivers to his left, someone walking to his right. At the last minute, he swerved the wheel.
"It's one of those things that you just got to bite the bullet, and try to hit the brakes and hopefully pray for the best," Campbell said.
Crumpled cars at Woody's Tow Yard now show the extent of the damage. The Dodge's door so warped that firefighters had to cut it to get Peterson out.
The Kia's windshield shattered, and its left side mangled.
Somehow Peterson, 53-year-old Carl Webster who drove the Kia, and a passenger in that car were all conscious when first responders arrived.
Webster and his passenger were hospitalized, as was Campbell. Webster suffered serious injuries while Campbell and Webster's passenger were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
"Just sore, just like I said, lower back pain, headache," Campbell said.
According to Lieutenant Anne Perriello of Pelham Police, Webster had "a couple lacerations on his arm" and "a serious bodily injury to his leg."
Webster was cited for crossing a double yellow line, and now police say he is the subject of a criminal investigation.
Peterson—a stoic Army veteran—just hopes this incident teaches a lesson.
"Hopefully, whatever it was the cause of it, whether it was distracted driving or just in a rush to get somewhere, it just shows the point that it's never worth it," he said.