A New Hampshire teen is unbelievably lucky to be alive this week after surviving an explosive head-on crash with a semi-truck that was captured on a fellow driver’s dash cam, WHDH News reports.
Eighteen-year-old Sam LaChance was driving his two-door Jeep Wrangler on an undivided stretch Route 101—speed limit 55 mph—in the town of Dublin when he drifted across the double yellow line and smashed into the oncoming big rig. The impact tore open the truck’s diesel fuel tanks, triggering a massive fireball that briefly consumed the Jeep, the cab, and the entire roadway in a scene that wouldn’t be out of place in Final Destination.
Driving behind LaChance was Marc Cramer with his own teenage son in the passenger seat. Footage from his dash cam shows the disastrous tableau unfold in a split second, the crumpled Jeep bouncing off the tractor-trailer with sickening force and spinning back into his lane. Unable to stop in time or veer around it, Cramer plows straight through the flaming wreckage before coming to a stop on the side of the road. The clip is truly horrifying.
Cramer, his son, and another driver ran over to the smashed Wrangler and pulled out an unconscious LaChance as the fire continued to burn. The driver of the truck, 66-year-old Jean Morency, reportedly suffered minor “bumps and bruises.” LaChance was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where doctors found he sustained a fractured foot, ruptured spleen, and second- and third-degree burns. The little Wrangler held up surprisingly well, all things considered.
“Absolutely a miracle. Everyone was in the right place at the right time,” his mother Jessica LaChance told WHDH News upon seeing the footage. “Total disbelief. I didn’t realize how horrible it actually was. A mom’s worst nightmare.”
It feels trite to say it could have been much worse—just watch the video again. LaChance is reportedly in good spirits and recovering well, though he’ll remain hospitalized for at least another couple months. It’s not clear why he drifted into oncoming traffic.
