Incredible escape: Man sandwiched between trucks in highway pile-up
It's a miracle this driver escaped alive.
Kaleb Whitby became wedged between two trucks in a massive highway pile-up in Oregon, US, that involved 100 people and dozens of vehicles.
Incredibly, the horror smash claimed no lives, but even more astonishingly, the 32-year-old father escaped the harrowing ordeal with only minor injuries.
He is still at a loss to explain how he walked away with his life still in tact.
"Thank God I'm still alive," he told the Oregonian.
"Now I've got to figure out why."
Crazy photo sent into us by a viewer. Man pinned between two semi trucks in I-84 wreckage http://t.co/yXBIXSFWht pic.twitter.com/h2ZArIVQze
— KTVB.COM (@KTVB) January 18, 2015
The smash, which happened on Interstate 84 (I-84) on Saturday morning, involved more than 20 vehicles, most of them trucks, and injured a dozen people.
The smash forced Mr Whitby up against his steering wheel and he was pinned inside his mangled vehicle in an upright position.
"I just braced and hoped everything would be alright," he said.
He took out his pocket knife and managed to cut away his seat belt and dislodge the steering column from his side.
Minutes later, another truck careered out of control and hit a guard rail.
The driver, Sergi Karplyuk, got out to investigate and discovered Mr Whitby sandwiched between the two trucks.
He asked if he could snap a picture while he was trapped inside the tangled steel, a squashed, yet remarkably calm, Mr Whitby looked back at the camera.
Mr Karplyuk then helped Whitby escape the wreckage before assisting others caught in the pile-up.
Mr Whitby was checked over in hospital, but only needed a couple of band aids.
It is believed hazardous conditions, including black ice, heavy winds and fog, caused the crash.
Morning news break – January 19
