A Mississippi man recently captured a heart-stopping head-on collision on his cellphone. The wreck was so incredible that it is amazing anyone survived.
"It was scary seeing something like that happen and knowing you can’t stop it," Alan Fanning, the man who filmed the collision, told The Huffington Post.
The spectacular crash occurred on July 8 along Highway 49 in Collins, a small city located about 60 miles southeast of Jackson. According to Fanning, he was traveling north along the 65 MPH highway when he noticed the driver in front of him, a man later identified by police as Edward Fairley of Mount Olive, swerving.
"He was all over the road," Fanning said. "He ran some cars off the road and I was blowing the horn and everything and my wife called 911. He didn't respond. He was out of it and then he cut across a turning lane, ran a red light and began going north in the southbound lanes."
Fanning said he was traveling about 70 MPH in the opposite lane and Fairley was quickly pulling away from him. On the video, cars can be seen swerving to avoid crashing with Fairley. However, the inevitable eventually happened: roughly a quarter mile down the road, he collided with a Ford SUV containing Amy Fox and her 7-year-old daughter.
"I cringed when it happened. I couldn't stand it," Fanning said.
The video ended as the vehicles come to a rest on opposite sides of the road. Fanning, who was parked closest to Fox, jumped out to assist her and her daughter.
"The lady was hollering, 'Get us out of here,'" Fanning said. "So I got her door pulled open and she jumped out. She was shaking. Her little daughter was in the back seat but when I went to the passenger side to get her out, she had already climbed over the driver seat and got out. She was really scared. I sat there in the grass with them and, about two minutes later, the ambulance and police were there."
According to Collins, Police Chief Ronnie Dickinson, Fox and her daughter were treated at a local hospital and released. Fairley was transported to another hospital for non-life threatening injuries, including a broken shoulder.
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Mississippi Highway Accident
Fairley has been charged with reckless driving and having no proof of insurance. Additional charges may be forthcoming.
"We're still waiting on toxicology. He said he doesn't remember what happened," Dickinson told HuffPost.
The veteran law enforcement officer added, "We're just very fortunate that no one was killed."
Fanning said he too is shocked no one was killed in the crash.
"It's amazing," he said of the accident. "I expected major injuries, and they were all pretty much able to walk away."