A wild scene unfolded in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when a construction crane malfunction sent a massive piece of debris crashing down onto a busy bridge. Incredibly, the driver of a Tesla Model Y, which was hit by the falling wreckage, walked away from the incident unscathed. Sadly, a construction worker lost their life in the accident, and two others were injured.

How did this even happen?

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan explained that the crane itself wasn’t the problem. Instead, he said there was a failure in a work platform attached to the crane, sending equipment and materials hurtling down onto the bridge, as reported by Teslarati.

A resident who witnessed the accident described it as something out of a movie. The falling crane section smashed into the Tesla, bounced off, and then landed on a nearby minivan. “We drive this every day, so it’s a pretty scary thing to think about,” the witness said.

Tesla driver talks about surviving Fort Lauderdale crane landing on his car. pic.twitter.com/ZcLTiMXu9p

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Tesla driver: “I’m not here speaking to you if I didn’t brake”

Mark Cerezin, the Tesla driver, considers himself incredibly lucky. He told reporters that he instinctively slammed on the brakes just as the debris fell. The impact destroyed the front of his Model Y, but the car’s cabin kept him safe.

“Had I not slammed as hard as I had with my foot? I’m not here speaking to you,” Cerezin said.

Video footage even shows Cerezin helping the injured driver of the minivan, using his shirt to compress her wounds. Later, in a social media post, he expressed gratitude for being alive: “I’m just happy to go home to my wife. I’m happy to go home to my family and to my friends.”