[GODREKR]

A Maryland woman survived a terrifying plunge after a tractor-trailer rammed into her vehicle and threw it over the edge of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Morgan Lake, 22, of Sunderland, Md., plummeted 40 feet into the water just before 8:30 p.m. Friday after her car was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler in the eastbound lanes of the bridge, which links Maryland's Eastern Shore with the rest of the state.

“I saw the sky slow, I saw the land slow, I saw water,” Lake told NBC News’ Peter Alexander. “And then as I saw the water, I clenched and my eyes shut.”

“And I just knew that I was gonna die. I was going down,” Lake said, fighting back tears.

Lake said the impact with the water felt like slamming into concrete. The vehicle was quickly flooded and started sinking to the bottom of the bay.

“I felt like I was drowning. I felt like my body was getting full, full with water. And I didn’t want to go out that way,” Lake said.

Lake, a fitness instructor, climbed out of the vehicle through a shattered window and swam to safety.

“I swam and swam and swam, and as soon as my lips got out of that water, I just took five really deep breaths and gasped for air,” she said.

Lake said she took temporary shelter at one of the bridge pilings.

“I am looking at everyone above the bridge and I yelled, ‘Someone call my mom. Someone please just call my mom,'" Lake said, adding that a nearby civilian then placed an emergency call.

Responders transferred Lake to a local hospital. She was released Saturday from Maryland Shock Trauma, according to The Associated Press.

She sustained relatively minor injuries, including a sprained ankle and elbow.

Authorities recovered her vehicle from the bottom of the bay over the weekend. They are investigating the incident.

The tractor-trailer's driver, Gabor Lovasz of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, was not injured, according to NBC Washington.

A third vehicle was also involved in the accident, but Herbert and Lisa Sutclife of Olney, Md., were uninjured, according to NBC Washington.

Source

<object width="420" height="245" id="msnbc6dee83" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0"><param name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" /><param name="FlashVars" value="launch=52541857&amp;width=420&amp;height=24 5" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed name="msnbc6dee83" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245" FlashVars="launch=52541857&amp;width=420&amp;heigh t=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 420px;">Visit NBCNews.com for <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://www.nbcnews.com">breaking news</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">news about the economy</a></p>

<embed width="576" height="324" src="http://media.nbcwashington.com/designvideo/embeddedPlayer.swf" flashvars="v=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcwashington.com%2F i%2Fembed_new%2F%3Fcid%3D216291751%26path=//news/local" allowFullScreen="true" AllowScriptAccess="always" />

[ices]

Final destination occurrence. Imagine minding your own business and that shit happens.

[Faline]

Life flashing before your eyes kinda moment

[Darkest Angel]

Lucky Lady!! What's weird here for me is that I had this exact dream early this morning. My sons, a long dead uncle, & myself were knocked off a bridge & plunged down into a lake. I felt the impact & watched the car slip below the surface and rapidly fill with water. I could not open the window or the doors. I woke up gasping for breath. I had forgotten the dream until I read this ladies account. Fascinating.

[durt]

good thing it was July and not January!!

[DiamondSmiles]

I saw her on the news telling the story.

Freaky, but, I thought she was much older.

Her number wasn't up.

[CuriousOne]

Call me paranoid, but the freak accidents I had witnessed even on this site have me scared each time I cross over water in a vehicle, or I'm near a semi...

Especially if it is carrying logs (I live in Oregon, so it's common.) One story of those bastards ramming through a windshield and impaling somebody was enough to scar me for life.

This is one lucky lady! She had the sense enough to try to fight and get out. I wonder if I would be too shocked or disoriented to do the same.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by CuriousOne ↗

Call me paranoid, but the freak accidents I had witnessed even on this site have me scared each time I cross over water in a vehicle, or I'm near a semi...

Especially if it is carrying logs (I live in Oregon, so it's common.) One story of those bastards ramming through a windshield and impaling somebody was enough to scar me for life.

This is one lucky lady! She had the sense enough to try to fight and get out. I wonder if I would be too shocked or disoriented to do the same.

Hopefully, if you are ever in such a terrible situation, you'll remember what you learned here and use them to your advantage.

She was also very religious. I think that helps some people to be strong in what could have been a tragic situation for her.

I learn things on here nearly every day. We never really know how we will react until we're put in such a situation.

Hopefully, you won't have to find out

[Megamel29]

I remember this one woman was dangling off of a bridge in her car with her infant and young daughter. A semi driver crashed into her and he went over the bridge. Fortunately, some Marines happened to be travelling by the bridge with this enormous fork lift and they were able to use it to stabilize the car so the firemen and paramedics could get them out.

[Desert Rat]

Originally Posted by diamondsmiles ↗

Hopefully, if you are ever in such a terrible situation, you'll remember what you learned here and use them to your advantage.

She was also very religious. I think that helps some people to be strong in what could have been a tragic situation for her.

I learn things on here nearly every day. We never really know how we will react until we're put in such a situation.

Hopefully, you won't have to find out

We have a strong will to survive, but you are right in not knowing how to react until the situation arises. One thing I am taking from this story is buying another window hammer for my wife's car. When a vehicle is submerged, the water pressure makes it impossible to open doors.