If you have been driving for a little while, you’ve likely passed a car crash that stuck with you. The NHTSA estimates that there have already been over 20,000 fatal car crashes in the first half of 2021. Car safety and safe driving habits are deeply important. This unbelievable Nissan Altima crash shows just how important car safety is. Thankfully, the driver miraculously survived this grisly accident.

Good work, Nissan Altima

There’s really not a word to describe this collision. Miraculously believed to be minor injuries. The car was struck from behind, folded the car in half, and semi came to rest on top of the car. In my 14 year career, I have never seen anything like it. https://t.co/iUsSNIhHYV pic.twitter.com/EPGI70s3Um

— Trooper Rocky Oliphant (@wspd7pio) November 16, 2021

According to Jalopnik, last Tuesday, a semi-truck rear-ended a 2015 Nissan Altima with such force that the car’s unibody frame folded over on itself. The crash was so intense that the rear wheels were folded to sit on top of the car like some sort of twisted horror movie creation. 

After a call with Mt. Vernon Police, Jalopnik confirmed that amazingly, the driver survived the horrific crash. Photos of the scene provided by Trooper Rocky Oliphant show remains of the Altima that looks more like a crushed beer can than anything resembling a car. 

In a tweet by the same officer, “There’s really not a word to describe this collision. Miraculously believed to be minor injuries,” his tweet reads. “The car was struck from behind, folded the car in half, and semi came to rest on top of the car. In my 14 year career, I have never seen anything like it.”

On the phone call between Jalopnik and officer Oliphant, the officer mentioned that he couldn’t believe that the driver could have survived such a crash. When he and the other officers came onto the scene, they figured this was a fatal crash, for sure. 

What exactly happened? 

Officer Oliphant says the crash occurred because a truck slowed in front of the Altima, causing the Nissan Altima drivers to hit the brakes. The truck behind the Altima failed to slow down quickly enough and smashed into the rear of the Nissan Altima, jamming it into the back of the other semi-truck. 

“The momentum from the rear semi-truck continued and kind of caused the [Altima’s] rear bumper/trunk area to fold on top of itself,” Oliphant continued. “It kind of created a little bit of like a ramp for the truck to just move on top of the car, and it continued forward until it was basically resting on top of that car.”

When the first officer arrived, he assumed the driver was dead but quickly heard someone calling for help from within the wreckage. Not only did the female driver survive the crash once they pulled the 18-wheeler off her car, but she also crawled out under her own power. 

Is the Nissan Altima a safe car? 

This 2015 model certainly is. The 2015 Nissan Altima landed a “Good” in nearly every crash test rating from IIHS, and it also got similar results on the NHTSA site. It did particularly well on the roof strength test, which this crash will back up until the end of time. 

Crash-test ratings might seem like boring trivia or car commercial fodder, but the truth is, when you need to rely on a car’s strong crash-test rating, you’ll be glad you went with something like the Nissan Altima.