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Texas nurse 'unbelievably blessed' to survive massive I-35 pileup and swiftly return to work

By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer

Updated Feb 13, 2021 9:48 PM EDT

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A nurse in northern Texas is feeling "unbelievably blessed" after surviving a massive car accident in Fort Worth and immediately leaving the crash site to begin her shift -- only stopping halfway through her shift for her injuries to be tended to.

The accident occurred Interstate 35 in Forth Worth just a little after 6 a.m. CST on Thursday. It included at least 133 vehicles and stretched about half a mile long, according to an initial investigation of the scene. A total of 13 ambulances and 80 police units were called to the scene of the major accident.

Rebecca Benson was on her way to work to begin her shift as a nurse when she saw the crash. She knew the weather would be bad, but told ABC News the roads were still dry by the time she left her home. Her commute was fine until she approached the bridge where she began to lose control of her vehicle.

Eighty police units were called to the scene on Thursday after a massive pileup involving over 100 vehicles occurred in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo/Glen E. Ellman/Forth Worth Fire Department)

"As soon as I hit that bridge, [there was] black ice. My car started to spin out a little bit, but nothing crazy, and so I was adjusted," Benson told the news outlet. "While I was coming around the corner, I see the cars in front of me. I'm trying to not spin out and to figure out if I can stop. I mean, my foot was as close to going through the floorboard as it possibly could be. And I realized that there's no stopping."

She said there was a Coca-Cola semi truck and a car hauler semi-truck that formed the shape of a V as she approached. She said she aimed for the two trucks and prayed for her safety as she crashed into them.

After she crashed into the pileup, she said she tried to relax as more and more cars joined into the crash, shaking each time a new car made a collision.

"I looked in my rearview mirror and can see all of these cars heading towards me. So I think that was the scariest part, knowing that I survived this part but now the chances of me getting completely smashed by all the cars and semis behind me," Benson said on ABC World News Tonight.

She remained pinned in her car, in the middle of the scene she described as "like a zombie movie" completely unable to get out. She was finally able to exit her vehicle after another person climbed over her car to help other people out.

"I could hear something on my roof and saw little legs coming down my windshield. Somebody ended up opening the back of my car and asking if I was okay. And then I was able to actually get out, because all my doors were completely blocked," she said.

First responders rushed to the scene on Thursday to provide assistance at the massive pileup that resulted in at least six fatalities. (Photo/Glen E. Ellman/Forth Worth Fire Department)

Despite Benson's predicament, she called a nearby coworker and asked for a ride to work so she could begin her shift. She was given permission from the police at the scene to leave her car at the crash site and hop over the barrier to her coworkers car. They were stuck on the highway for about two hours before they were able to make it to work.

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Benson worked half of a shift before getting her injuries checked out at the suggestion of her husband. She said she was "unbelievably blessed' to have only sustained very minimal injuries -- neck pain, shoulder pain, bruising on her left elbow and "typical" aches and pains.

While Benson escaped with minimal injuries, the results of the crash were fatal for others. Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis said in a news conference that there were six fatalities and an additional 36 people were transported to a hospital directly from the scene. About 65 more people searched for medical care related to the accident after leaving the crash site.

“Those vehicles were probably coming a good 60 to 70 miles per hour before they hit that accident," McLaughlin speculated. "Some cars are just so mangled, I mean kind of beyond definition."

The weather at the scene of the crash only made recovery efforts more complicated. A far-reaching storm resulted in freezing rain in the area. It is unclear if the weather had any responsibility in causing the crash, but it did lead to a tricky situation for first responders on the scene.

"There were several first responders who are probably a little sore right now because they actually fell on the scene," MedStar spokesman Matt Zavadsky said.

Similar to Benson's description of a "zombie movie," storm chaser Jason McLaughlin, who was quick to the scene, told AccuWeather that the scene was a surreal sight.

Related:

Driver who survived 70-foot plunge off overpass after hitting snowbank speaks out
Deadly pileup in Fort Worth like a 'scene out of a movie'
Extreme winter weather upending vaccination efforts across nation

"You take a scene out of a movie and you just imagine trying to recreate that and this was worse than I could have ever even imagined recreating," McLaughlin said. "It was just one of those things you just see it and you kind of just pause in your footsteps and you’re just like, wow you don’t know what to say."

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

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