Mum’s miracle after ladder fell off van and smashed through windscreen… but she escaped with scratches
Joanne Cuthbertson, 38, said it felt like the horror film as she narrowly missed being decapitated in a freak accident
A MUM told how she cheated Death after a ladder flew off a van and speared through the windscreen of her car in a freak accident.
Joanne Cuthbertson, 38, was driving north on the A1 when a gust of wind dislodged a ladder tied to the roof of the van in front.
It landed on the bonnet of her Volkswagen Tiguan and crashed through the windscreen.
Amazingly Joanne and her dad Brian walked away from the accident with just cuts, bruises, and whiplash.
Joanne, from Bedlington, Northumberland, said: “I just had a Final Destination moment - it was over in a second but if felt like a whole hour.
“The noise of the ladder on impact was horrific. Thank god it hit my bonnet first, because it would have killed me instantly and decapitated me had it not.
“I emergency braked so hard, the ladder came out and I actually went over the top of it.
“I can remember seeing blood and spitting out glass. There was so much glass - it got in my mouth, my eyes, and my nose.
“I opened the car door and crawled out fearing the worst.”
Final Destination is a horror film franchise in which characters try to cheat Death after escaping a disaster but are killed off one by one in a series of shocking and bizarre accidents.
Joanne's close shave happened at about 3.10pm on September 29 near Gosforth after she and her dad visited a garage to have her car valued for part exchange.
The mother-of-two memory's of the aftermath is hazy but she remembers a van driver and two women stopping to help, and waiting with them until emergency services arrived.
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She said: “A power grid van driver and two ladies were the only ones to stop. One lady was there holding my hand the whole time – I was traumatised and I did not even get her name.
“One called the police and the other was an off duty police inspector. I remember one of them saying she had to go as she had kids in the car which makes her even more remarkable.”
Joanne and Brian were taken to hospital in Newcastle but were released later that night with cuts, bruises and whiplash.
Joanne, who works in accounts for Greggs, feels the pair have been "lucky" to escape with relatively minor injuries, and after posting on social media, she has been put in touch with the power grid van driver.
Now she is desperate to track down the two women who stopped to help and express her gratitude.
She added: “A thank you goes a long way sometimes.
“They might not feel like they’ve done a lot, but when you have had a horrific smash, someone holding your hand and saying you are going to be alright is amazing.
“I would like to say a massive thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Northumbria Police said enquiries were ongoing.
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