Pregnant driver survives crash after highway railing impales car

A pregnant woman miraculously survived a car crash in Chongqing on January 5 when a highway railing pierced through her car. Photo: Chongqing Morning Post

Traffic police attempt to remove the guardrail from the driver's side of the vehicle January 5. Photo: Chongqing Morning Post

A pregnant driver miraculously survived after a long length of highway railing impaled her car during an accident in Chongqing.

The 23-year-old woman surnamed Liu and her husband were sent to a local hospital for minor injuries after her car spun out and veered into the guardrail, sending an eight-meter section of railing through the vehicle like a kebab skewer.

Highway police found the upturned car on the Qijiang section of Lanzhou-Haikou Highway, where the metal railing had penetrated under the hood, through the cab and out the driver's side window.

"If it came in slightly to the right, or if I failed to avoid it, I would have died with my baby," said Liu. "By reflex I leaned toward my husband when the car was heading toward the guardrail," she added.

Liu was knocked unconscious during the ordeal, only to wake up and find she was only a few centimeters away from the railing.

"I was so paralyzed with fright, my husband had to pull me out of the car," said Liu.

After checking highway surveillance video, authorities found Liu had lost control of the vehicle and at fault for the accident.