Fiery NJ crash survivor: How could somebody walk away from that?
WEST DEPTFORD, N.J. (WPVI) -- A New Jersey man is thankful to be alive after surviving a fiery wrong-way accident on I-295 in West Deptford.
35-year-old Mark Rohrback of Cinnaminson was still sort of shell shocked when Action News visited him Monday night.
When he took a look at what's left of his Ford pickup truck, he just couldn't believe it.
"How could somebody walk away from that?" Rohrback said.
Rohrback says it was about 4:30 a.m. that he was traveling southbound on 295 coming around exit 20 when a vehicle traveling the wrong way came right at him.
"Seen a vehicle's headlights coming towards me and my first reaction was to hit the brakes and swerve and as I swerved the vehicle, she swerved towards me and we both hit about 65 miles an hour, head on," Rohrback said.
The driver that hit him, identified as 26-year-old Eileen Dougherty of Boothwyn, Pa., was trapped in her Toyota Prius and had to be extricated.
She was taken to Cooper University Hospital with serious injuries.
Rohrback, however, didn't even suffer a scratch.
"Somebody was watching over me. Somebody was definitely watching over me today," Rohrback said.
Rohrback lost his cell phone and Christmas presents for his two kids, but he's just grateful to be alive.
"I think that's going to be the talk of everybody's Thanksgiving table and I hope everything turns out well for the other driver," Rohrback said.
Doughtery remains hospitalized but she will survive.
She faces charges of driving under the influence and related offenses.
