Footage filmed from a nearby vehicle released Monday shows just how close Jonathan Deri came to serious injury when a 15-ton piece of iron from an adjacent construction site fell onto his car as he drove on the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.
The footage shows the metal hitting the roof of Deri's car and the sudden braking of the vehicles around him as drivers registered what had happened.
A 15-ton metal cylinder hits Jonathan Deri's car in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Hot News)
The Magen David Adom rescue service received its first report of the incident shortly after 11am Sunday. Medics and paramedics rushed to the scene to provide first aid to the 24-year-old student, who sustained light to moderate injuries.
Deri told Ynet on Monday that he feels better than he did on Sunday but is only now realizing that he was very lucky not to have sustained graver injury.
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The moment a 15-ton metal cylinder crashed onto Jonathan Deri's car in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Screenshot)
"I'm slowly starting to understand the magnitude of what happened," Deri said from his hospital bed at Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv.
"I didn't see it fall on me, I don't remember it. I just remember a very powerful 'boom' and glass shattering everywhere," he said.
"I remember the car leapt and I tried to get out while feeling severe back pain."
Deri said that he had been traveling at a speed of 60 km/h when the metal cylinder hit and had had no time to brake.
"The blow stopped the car immediately. At that moment I could not really take in what was happening. They laid me on the ground and helped me drink some water.
"I started to check that everything was fine, trying to move my legs and saw that I my hands were covered in blood. I was in shock," he said.
"I definitely have to say a prayer now that everything has worked out fine."