HACKENSACK, N.J. — An SUV driver swerving to avoid striking another vehicle on a highway Friday hit a snowbank along a guardrail and catapulted 60 feet off a bridge. Incredibly, authorities say, the two occupants suffered only minor injuries, and the vehicle landed upright.
The Toyota Rav4 was headed east on Interstate 80 when the accident occurred in Hackensack.
The driver, 25-year-old Elizabeth Wolthoff, veered sideways after her vehicle was cut off, officials said. The SUV hit a snowbank that formed after plows had pushed excess snow up against the guardrail.
The SUV flew off the bridge and landed upright beneath the Hackensack River bridge, missing the river by about 40 feet. Wolthoff and her passenger, Rebecca Winslow, 25, called 911.
State Police Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Williams said both were wearing their seat belts.
Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to slide Winslow out feet-first and eventually pull Wolthoff out.
Firefighter Michael Thomasey said that a disoriented Winslow asked where she was.
“I told her: ‘You're in Hackensack. Don't worry.' ”
