Teen driver narrowly avoids being impaled in crash
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. -- It's a miracle that an 18-year-old driver wasn't killed in a crash when an 8-foot long fence post pierced her windshield, narrowly missing her head.
"Extremely lucky. Lucky to be alive," says West Windsor Police Officer Frank LaTorre.
Authorities say Rachel Dawidowicz of Monmouth Junction was leaving a parking lot at Mercer County Community College on October 20th when a fast-moving car approached and spooked her.
Dawidowicz hit the gas and wound up jumping the curb and plowing through a picket fence outside a schoolyard full of frightened children.
Officer LaTorre explains, "One of the rails of this wooden picket fence went straight through the windshield, and it passed her head rest, and went right out the back of the car."
The older model Ford Taurus didn't come to a stop until it circled back and slammed into a tree.
"She's definitely lucky to be alive," said Amani Najjar, who was sitting in her car just feet away, watching the whole thing.
She's amazed that Dawidowicz wasn't impaled by the 8 foot fence post driven like a spear into the car.
Najjar tells us, "It was literally like this close to her head, like she was, if it was 1 inch over it would have gone straight into her face."
Najjar ran to help the driver, who was slightly injured from the broken glass.
"I think she hit her head too with the impact. So like, she had cuts on her face and it was bleeding," she said.
Officer LaTorre says, "This is probably the closest I've seen to someone being seriously or fatally injured in a crash like this."
"She did damage the car considerably, but she didn't hurt herself seriously and she didn't hurt anyone else, which is a good thing," LaTorre said.
Action News was unable to contact Rachel Dawidowicz. Police say they issued a summons for careless driving, but you have to agree that this is one lucky teenager.
