A driver standing beside his vehicle on an Ohio interstate came within seconds of being struck Monday, according to dramatic video shared by the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The man was on the shoulder of I-670 in Columbus, next to an SUV that appeared to have come to rest sideways after apparently hitting the highway barrier.
Moments later, the footage shows a sedan sliding toward the man and the disabled SUV. Spotting the danger just in time, he pulled himself up onto the concrete median before the car slammed into his vehicle.
Emergency responders work at the scene after a roadside crash on Ohio’s Highway 670. (Ohio Department of Transportation)
A 911 call obtained by local station ABC6 indicated that a passenger was still inside the SUV when the second collision happened.
During the call, the passenger told dispatchers the SUV had lost a tire and struck the divider before coming to a stop along the interstate.
“It’s off to the side but we are right in the turnstile, and it’s really worrying me because we’re going to get hit,” the passenger told 911 operators, according to ABC6.
Traffic moves along Interstate 670 near the Cleveland Avenue bridge on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (USA Today Network via Reuters Connect)
News Outlet contacted the Ohio Department of Transportation for updates on the conditions of the passengers involved.
A department spokesman highlighted the incident as a safety lesson, noting that the lane the impacted vehicle was in was closed and should not have had any other cars driving in it.
Ohio Department of Transportation Alexandria Outpost on Aug. 1, 2026, in Alexandria, Ohio. (USA Today Network via Reuters Connect)
“There will be a green arrow over it if it’s opened, a red X if it is closed. In this case, it was an emergency shoulder, so the person who crashed was stopped on the shoulder of the highway. They were doing the right thing. There should be nobody driving in that lane,” Ohio Department of Transportation press secretary Matt Bruning told reporters.
The emergency lane, Bruning explained to News Outlet, was a “SmartLane,” a highway feature in Ohio that allows the state to convert the wide shoulder into a temporary travel lane as needed. The SmartLane was closed at the time of the crash.
“Don’t drive in a closed lane. If you are going to drive on the highway, allow that extra space between you and the vehicle in front of you so you have time to react and space to react if something might happen,” Bruning concluded.
