The driver of a large semi-truck in Tampa, Florida has been lucky to escape with his life after a terrifying crash triggered by an unidentified vehicle.
The incident occurred on Friday, April 21 as the 33-year-old truck driver was traveling along Interstate 275. He claims that he came across a vehicle parked on the outside shoulder who was facing southbound and then pulled back into traffic directly in front of him, cutting him off and forcing him to slam on the brakes.
While the truck driver managed to avoid hitting the vehicle in question, the forceful braking maneuver caused two metal/concrete poles on the trailer of the semi-truck to break free from the tie-downs, smash the rear window, and pierce the cab. Dramatic images taken from the scene show the two poles running directly through the middle of the cabin but remarkably, the driver avoided injury.
Authorities describe the car that pulled in front of the truck as a ‘phantom vehicle’ as it triggered the incident but was not hit and then proceeded to flee the scene. Police observed 85-foot long skid marks on the road from when the truck driver hit the brakes.
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The scene was cleared by late morning on Friday and all lanes were quickly reopened.
It’s not only remarkable that the driver of the truck avoided injury but it is equally as miraculous that no other motorists were injured either. Here’s hoping that a motorist who witnessed the incident had a dashcam installed that captured an image of the phantom vehicle’s license plate.