Exploding Washing Machine Knocks Mother Out
(CBSNEWS) - When Sara Van Beck heard a loud "whistling noise" coming from her laundry room last week, she rushed over to investigate.
The mother of five from Freeport, Minnesota, noticed the washing machine was starting to "shake" and "howl" as it reached the end of its spin cycle. As she bent down to examine the 3-year-old Whirlpool Duet, she heard an explosion.
"It sounded like a bomb. It was so surreal," Van Beck told CBS News.
Within seconds, Van Beck felt a sharp pain as the plastic door flung open and ball bearings flew out of the machine and hit her in the stomach.
"The force blew me off my feet," Van Beck described. "I fell backwards and hit my head."
Van Beck was knocked unconscious.
She woke up on the laundry room floor and reached for her phone, only to realize it was in another room.
"I remember waking up. My head hurt. I couldn't move," Van Beck said.
So, the quick-thinking mom spoke into her Apple Watch and asked Siri to call her husband, Noah, who happens to be a first responder for the Freeport Fire Department.
"He's literally a lifesaver," Van Beck said. "If I called 911, he'd be the one to come."