Young woman nearly crushed by concrete

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - June 5, 2009- A 40 foot long concrete beam fell on top of her car on Thursday in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. Amazingly, she managed to get out of the way just enough to avoid being seriously hurt, or worse.

"Yesterday was crazy. God was definitely with me," said the driver of that car, Ashley Campbell, 21.

It happened within seconds. A multi-ton flange of concrete came loose from a passing truck and crushed the driver's side of Ashley Campbell's car as she was parking in front of her best friend's house.

To everyone's amazement, including Ashley's, she escaped with just minor injuries.

"I first saw it unlatching, I saw the string unlatch, and then I saw it fall, like falling onto me. It came very slow," Campbell said.

Campbell said she instinctually moved her head to the side and then ducked as the beam came crashing down.

"I thought it was going to hit the side of my car, so I looked at it with attitude, like 'What's going on?' and that's how I moved my head."

Campbell's best friend, Tashanna Ellis, whom she refers to as her sister, believes the truck driver may have noticed the cement flange was coming loose because he slowed the truck down before the cement fell.

"You would think something like that would be held on by chains. It actually looked like a rubber band, a thick rubber band was holding the cement. Why would you hold something like that with a rubber band?" Ellis asked.

Both girls said the truck driver, who had just picked up the concrete load from NJ Precast, was terribly shaken by the accident.

"He came out and was like "Is anybody alive? Was anybod in there? Praise God, was anybody in there? That's what he said, then he came out and kissed her on her forehead," said Ellis.

Campbell was treated for some shoulder and back injuries at a Hamilton Hospital and was released yesterday.

"It was just a miracle. When you see my car smashed in... I don't even know how I got out," Campbell said.

Jersey Prescast released a statement saying: "Even though the truck involved in this accident was owned and operated by a private contractor, if any employee of Jersey Precast was responsible for this incident due to a violation of any safety standard, they will be subjected to disciplinary action, including possible loss of employment."

That statement went on to apologize to Campbell.

The truck driver did not return a call left by Action News.

Police say no charges have been filed, but add they are still investigating.

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