The driver of a Series 2 Lotus Elise has been lucky to survive a frightening crash with a semi-truck in Arlington, Washington over the weekend.
Komo News reports that the crash occurred just after 11 p.m. as the British sports car was travelling north in Arlington along I-5 during heavy rain. It is understood that the Elise began to hydroplane at 268th Street NE. The driver lost control and the car slid under a moving 18-wheeler, getting stuck underneath and with the massive truck’s wheels mere inches away from the car’s cabin.
Trooper Heather Axtman confirmed that neither the driver of the Lotus or the truck driver were injured. As it stands, things could have been much worse.
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Had the semi-truck been traveling faster than it was and hit the Lotus at a specific angle, it’s possible it could have simply driven over the car, likely crushing and, more importantly, seriously injuring or even killing the driver.
Images of the crash show that the Elise suffered a fair amount of damage, with roughly half of its front bumper ripped off. In addition, there is likely a lot of damage at both sides of the sports car as well as the rear end, so it’s certainly possible that the car will be declared a write-off by the owner’s insurance company.
It’s possible that the entire incident could have been avoided if the Lotus owner was driving slightly slower in the wet conditions to reduce the risk of hydroplaning. Nevertheless, they should count themselves extremely lucky to have walked out of this one
