😲 Police have released surveillance video of a harrowing crash

😲 The driver, an 88-year-old woman, suffered a medical emergency

😲 Scroll down for video of the near-miss 👇


GARFIELD — A man is lucky to be alive after a hurtling vehicle plowed through an intersection and crashed Monday afternoon.

The man was walking to work around 1:45 p.m. Monday, Garfield police said. He turned from Midland Avenue onto Passaic Street and walked underneath the elevated train tracks.

Suddenly, a white sedan headed west on Passaic Street came racing down the hill. It went onto the sidewalk and under the elevated train tracks where the man had just been. He missed being hit by mere seconds, police said.

Nearly fatal crash in Garfield 8/14/23 (Garfield police via Instagram)
Nearly fatal crash in Garfield 8/14/23 (Garfield police via Instagram)
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The vehicle narrowly avoided a train trestle but hit a light post, traffic light, and a sizeable flower pot at the intersection and kept going. It only came to a stop after crashing into two vehicles waiting at the light. The sedan came to a stop out front of a local cafe.

First responders got to the scene and went to address the driver of the sedan, which had no passengers.

Nearly fatal crash in Garfield 8/14/23 (Garfield police via Instagram)
Nearly fatal crash in Garfield 8/14/23 (Garfield police via Instagram)
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The driver, an 88-year-old woman, survived the intense collision with only minor leg injuries. Wearing her seatbelt certainly saved her life, police said. She was taken to the hospital. None of the other drivers were injured.

An investigation found that the woman had suffered a medical episode while driving. During the medical episode, she put her foot down on the accelerator pedal and lost control.

See the video of the crash below.

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