Incredible footage captures black-ice near-miss on I-95
Tractor trailer careens across highway, narrowly missing motorist
Freezing rain and black ice wreaked havoc on roadways from Maryland to Maine on Sunday, causing more than 700 accidents and at least nine deaths. But perhaps no video captured the chaos quite like this one, taken by a driver on the New Jersey Turnpike who was filming an accident scene in front of him when a tractor trailer came careening down the highway from behind.
The unidentified driver calmly turned his camera just as the truck slid across two southbound lanes, hit the median and landed on the other side, narrowly missing him.
“I was blocked by two trucks on southbound I-95 at exit 9,” the driver explained in a YouTube post. “I only wanted to take a picture while I was awaiting for them to clear up. ... And then I heard a noise from behind. ... I was barely missed.”
The harrowing footage has since gone viral, racking up more than 1 million views on YouTube.
The National Weather Service issued a warning at 6:58 a.m. Sunday morning, but it came too late for hundreds of drivers. According to the New Jersey State Police, there were 428 accidents reported in the Garden State alone.
“We do try to get several hours of lead time,” NWS's Sarah Johnson told CBS News on Monday. “Unfortunately, with the event yesterday, it didn't unfold the way we had expected.”
