Michigan Man Survives Crushing Crash
FLINT (WWJ) - It's a sweet story of survival for a 30-year old Michigan man. "It happened so fast, I'm just lucky to be here today," said Marc Keinath of Millington, near Flint.
Keinath was driving to work along I-75 on Tuesday, when he hit a patch of ice, lost control of his car, and was struck by a semi truck hauling twenty tons of sugar.
The next thing he knew, his car was in a ditch, with the semi right on top of him.
"A couple of seconds went by, and all of a sudden the whole roof caved in. It happened so fast... I was trapped in the car. I had a little bit of space. Everything was crushed down in my car, except for where I was sitting," Keinath told WWJ's Greg Bowman.
"I had my phone in my front pocket, so I called 9-1-1 and explained to them what had happened," he said.
On that call, the 911 operator asked, "Do you remember a mile marker? The last mile marker crossroad?"
Keinath replied, "I have no idea, I have a semi on top of me."
The operator responded, "Is anybody hurt?"
"I, uh, not that I know of," Keinath said.
With help on the way, Keinath texted his fiancée, Kati Reinert. He wrote, "I'm in an accident. I'm alive though."
Reinert asked if she could come to him. He wrote back, "No. The expressway is closed."
She asked if he was in the car under the semi she was seeing on the news. He wrote, "Yeah."
"Then I actually called into my work and told them I probably wasn't going to be able to make it in today," Keinath said.
Keinath said they had to stabilize the vehicle first, and it took two hours before rescuers could finally free him. He didn't suffer any serious injuries, just a few scratches and a strained neck.
Friday, General Motors will present Keinath with a new Chevy Malibu to replace the one destroyed in the crash.
Keinath spoke to the CBS Early Show about his ordeal. CLICK HERE to view the video, including footage of the rescue.
