Sliding pickup ricochets off guardrails, plows back into Ohio traffic in ‘scary’ video

Had it not been for buckled seat belts, sturdy guardrails and some luck, this three-vehicle crash on a slippery Ohio highway could have ended very differently.

And all of it was caught on camera.

“We will tell you, this video is scary,” the Ohio transportation department wrote in a Thursday Facebook post sharing the intense, 15-second footage, which has been viewed more than a quarter of a million times as of Sunday afternoon.

Dash camera footage shows a pickup truck in the left-hand passing lane of Interstate 75 near Lima as the driver appears to lose control of his 2006 Dodge — sliding across the right lane and into the highway’s northbound guardrails, just as the span crosses an overpass.

After plowing into the snow-covered rails, the pickup ricochets back into the roadway and right into the path of a semi-truck, Ohio state troopers said in a news release after the crash, which occurred just before noon on Nov. 27, 2018.

The truck hit the 2017 Freightliner semi-truck, forcing it to jack knife, troopers said. But there was eve more trouble ahead: A 2007 Ford Crown Victoria was sitting on the shoulder, and the jack-knifed semi pushed the pickup right into the stopped car. Three people appeared to be standing near the car as the pickup barreled into it.

By the time troopers arrived at the crash site, the mess had entirely blocked the interstate. As traffic backed up behind the accident, even more crashes were reported on the highway, state troopers said.

The pickup driver — 43-year-old Albert Morales — was taken to a hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries, troopers said. Troopers wrote him a citation for failure to control.

Russell Hardesty, the 75-year-old semi driver, and John Chapman, the driver of the Ford, had only minor injuries. They were both treated at the scene, troopers said.

Highway patrol said everyone involved was wearing a seat belt.

EPA workers had to come help clean up “a significant amount of diesel fuel” that spilled as a result of the crash, troopers said.

State troopers described the crash as a reminder “to drive carefully during adverse road and weather conditions and to always wear a properly adjusted safety belt.”

The state’s transportation department said drivers should keep in mind “that bridges and overpasses freeze first and can remain icy when other sections of pavement are not.”

Officials also offered advice to those stuck on the side of the road: Stay in your car if you can.

“It’s the safest place to wait for help,” the state transportation department wrote as it shared the video, apparently alluding to those standing outside the Crown Victoria as the pickup careened toward them. “You’ll see why when you watch.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2019 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Sliding pickup ricochets off guardrails, plows back into Ohio traffic in ‘scary’ video."