Utah Teen Survives Crash On North Ogden Divide
Jan 2, 2021, 11:09 PM | Updated: Jun 6, 2022, 6:40 pm
NORTH OGDEN, Utah – A 19-year-old woman walked away from a crash along North Ogden Canyon Road without a scratch, thanks to some quick thinking and what she feels saved her life – her seatbelt.
The North Ogden Divide is a scenic canyon route. But with a windy path and steep drop-offs, it can be a treacherous drive in the winter — especially at night.
Crews started work on major safety improvements to the road Monday.
“Every parent around here is nervous when their kid is driving the divide,” said Holly Williams.
And for good reason, as her 19-year-old daughter experienced firsthand Wednesday night.
“I was heading home,” Hannah Williams said. “I was driving the speed limit.”
That’s when tragedy struck.
Seeing what’s left of this car, it’s hard to imagine someone could survive the crash. The 19yo driver hit a snow patch, sending her off a cliff and then rolling 200 yards- yet she managed to walk away. Her incredible story on @KSL5TV now.
🎥 court: Holly Williams pic.twitter.com/RsT5brCB0j— Garna Mejia KSL (@GarnaMejiaKSL) January 3, 2021
“And as I look up, I see the mound of snow and I knew immediately that I was going to hit it and I knew I was going to fall off that cliff,” Williams said. “I remember hitting the side really hard; I remember the sound of it and everything … and I remember my head going super fuzzy and super heavy.”
Williams lost consciousness as the car rolled the equivalent of two football fields.
“At that point, I was like, ‘This is what it’s like to die. I’m going to die,’” she said. “But I wasn’t really scared. I prayed and said, ‘Please let my family know that I love them.’”
When the car finally came to a stop, Williams regained consciousness and jumped into action, using Siri to call 911.
She couldn’t hear the operator, but they tracked her GPS coordinates.
“The car was off,” Holly Williams said. “The headlights weren’t on so they couldn’t see her in the ravine.”
Hannah Williams climbed towards the road until she spotted a flashlight.
Looking at what’s left of her car, she said she would not have survived without one seemingly minor thing.
“If I did not have that seatbelt on, I would not be here,” she said.
Williams said she was driving about 30 mph, which was likely a big factor in her survival. Her family also sent its thanks to the first responders who did everything to find her.
