Massachusetts college student describes missing wrong-way I-495 crash by seconds: "I don't know why I got so lucky"

Three people were hospitalized Tuesday night after a wrong-way driver caused a crash on Interstate 495 that left one vehicle engulfed in flames, according to Massachusetts State Police. Another driver, meanwhile, described the harrowing moment he narrowly avoided a head-on collision.

The crash happened around 9:50 p.m. in Chelmsford.

The driver who is accused of going the wrong way on the busy highway suffered life-threatening injuries, authorities said. Their name has not been released. 

Chelmsford wrong-way crash

Campbell Twitchell, a UMass Lowell student, said he narrowly avoided a head-on collision moments before the crash.

"All I saw were a pair of headlights and a white car, so I just turned my wheel quickly and started fishtailing all across the highway for maybe 100 meters until I spun out and 180ed into the woods," Twitchell told WBZ-TV.

Twitchell said the encounter happened suddenly as he was driving home from class.

"I was just driving home from school like every other normal day and all of a sudden something that could've killed me is 20 feet in front of me. I narrowly avoided it," he said. "It just went from 0 to 100 instantly."

A nearby resident, Jim Martines, said he witnessed the aftermath from his home overlooking the highway.

"The highway is right in my backyard, and I seen the big flame," Martines said. "That's when I took a picture of it, and I just kept looking out at all the police and fire trucks keep coming."

"I don't know why I got so lucky"

Martines said crashes are not uncommon along that stretch of I-495.

"There's a lot of accidents here on 495 that happen a lot, so it's not the first time at all," he said. "It happens a lot here on the strip, and I don't know why."

Twitchell added that several drivers stopped to check on him after his vehicle spun out. One man gave him a ride so he could meet his mother down the road. He said he is grateful for their help.

State police are investigating the cause of the crash.

"I don't know why I got so lucky. But it's a weird feeling, because seeing what happened further down and thinking that could have been me had I been a fraction of a fraction of second later," Twitchell said.