A Stranded Driver on an Ohio Highway Had to Leap Onto a Concrete Barrier to Avoid Getting Hit, in What an Official Called “The Closest Call I’ve Ever Seen”

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A Stranded Driver on an Ohio Highway Had to Leap Onto a Concrete Barrier to Avoid Getting Hit, in What an Official Called "The Closest Call I've Ever Seen"

A near-miss on an Ohio interstate is drawing warnings from state transportation officials after a stranded driver narrowly avoided being struck by oncoming traffic.

The shoulder of Interstate 670 in Ohio is a SmartLane, an emergency breakdown lane that only opens to traffic after it’s been swept and cleared of vehicles and debris. Video timestamped August 3 shows a driver standing outside a disabled car as two vehicles come at speed.

The first car pulled off the shoulder just in time. The second rammed the parked car as the driver leapt onto the concrete barrier.

ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning posted the footage with a warning about the lane. “When the SmartLane on I-670 is closed, there’s a reason,” he wrote.

“There are MULTIPLE signs alerting drivers when it is open and when it is closed. This is about the closest call (for the person who had to jump onto the median wall) I’ve ever seen. Pay attention!”

Video credit: Ohio Department of Transportation via Storyful

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