"I Don't Want To Die": Woman Recalls Semi-Truck Dragging, Crushing Her Vehicle
MESQUITE (CBSDFW.COM) - A semi-truck dragged a car more than a quarter mile down I-30 in Mesquite, slowly crushing it against the HOV barrier. The driver was able to walk away from the crash -- unscathed.
Police say the semi-truck changed lanes and didn't see the vehicle. The truck driver also didn't realize what had happened as he dragged the car down the highway.
Pictures of the crash highlight how lucky Ana Montano was to walk away from the scene. She looked at them for the first time since living through it on Monday.
"I closed my eyes, and I was like, 'I don't want to die. I don't want to die,'" said Montano.
According to the crash report, on westbound I-30 in Mesquite, a semi-truck changed lanes "when unsafe" and simply didn't see her.
"And I kept honking, but it was already too late. I started accelerating because maybe I could just get away. But it was so fast that I didn't have time for anything," said Montano.
The collision pinned Montano's vehicle against the HOV lane barrier and slowly began to crush it.
"I'm sandwiched between the 18 wheeler, and I felt the shaking," she said.
Cars moving in the opposite direction pulled over after getting hit by large debris from the crash.
"I don't know how long it was. It just felt like a very long time," said Montano.
The crash report says the semi-truck dragged her car "1,500 feet along the zipper wall" -- more than a quarter mile -- before stopping.
"I kept hearing people saying 'get out of the car, get out of the car, there's gasoline leaking,'" said Montano.
She was seen being consoled by a passerby at the scene. The images of the crash will linger with her and her family.
"When I showed them the pictures, they were like, 'I cannot believe that you're still alive," said Montano.
Montano says her husband was supposed to be with her but decided to stay home at the last minute. He would have been in the passenger seat, which was smashed nearly to the floor.
