If you’ve ever driven on a busy expressway before sunrise and wondered what could go wrong, this story probably isn’t going to help. Newly released dashcam footage from a Miami-area highway shows the kind of accident that stops you cold: a full-size pickup truck catching air, blasting through a concrete barrier, and landing directly on top of a car traveling below. It’s the sort of visual you don’t easily forget.
The crash took place on a Friday morning around 5 a.m. on the Palmetto Expressway near Northwest 36th Street in Doral, a busy corridor that cuts through Miami-Dade County. At that hour, traffic is light but moving — which means there’s very little warning for anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time. For 57-year-old Jorge Reales of Miramar, that morning turned into a nightmare he had no way to prepare for.
The footage shows debris scattered across the roadway in every direction: shattered glass, a detached tire, and twisted chunks of metal that used to be two vehicles. The pickup, driven by 26-year-old Reinerio De La Torre Toledo, came to rest on top of Reales’ car, compressing it beneath the weight of the larger vehicle. It’s a scene that prompts an immediate and involuntary reaction from anyone watching it…