FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Melissa and Jason Culver were on their way to Grace Church of the Valley in Kingsburg Sunday morning when their drive on Highway 99 turned into a fight to survive.
The married couple of 27 years was traveling southbound when thick fog moved in without warning, reducing visability down to feet, not miles.
Jason Culver said conditions looked normal just before impact.
“We could see a half mile — no problem,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, there was just a wall of fog.”
The Culvers’ car was hit seven times: they hit the car in front of them who broke suddenly, they then got him from behind, and from the sides, placing them in what Melissa described as a second cluster of vehicles in the pile-up. Their car was totaled.
(Courtesy Melissa Culver.)
Despite the violent impacts, the couple escaped with only minor injuries, including bruises, scratches and sore ribs.
Only light bruising between she and her husband. (KMPH)
They said emergency crews arrived within minutes and helped remove the front door of their vehicle so they could get out safely.
At the scene of the Highway 99 17-vehicle pile-up on Sunday January 11.
What worried Melissa most wasn’t the damage: it was family.
She knew their adult children were traveling just minutes behind them on the highway, with her father also not far back.
“My first response wasn’t checking myself.” Melissa said. “It was making sure they turned around.”
Melissa sent an emergency SOS alert from her watch and followed up with calls and texts. Her children and father received the message and avoided the crash area.
The California Highway Patrol says the crash involved 17 vehicles and killed 61-year-old Gustavo Villanueva Vargas of Fresno. Several others were injured. Investigators say fog was the primary factor.
Jason Culver said surviving the crash changed his perspective.
God spared our lives
he said.
The Culvers said they were traveling about 60 miles per hour when the crash happened and are urging drivers to slow down when fog reduces visibility.
“Alive and late is better than the alternative,” Melissa Culver explained