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Omaha traffic reporter survives two crashes in six days
Traffic reporter broadsided and cut out of her car: ‘I thought that I had died’
OMAHA, Neb. —
KETV traffic reporter Samantha Pastorino is back at work after surviving two crashes in Omaha within a span of six days. She’s using her experience to advocate for road safety and driver responsibility.
“I think it’s absurd, unbelievable. It’s traumatic,” Pastorino said. She recently returned to work after taking two months off to heal from her injuries.
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The first crash happened on a March afternoon at 24th and Douglas streets while Pastorino was walking across the street.
“I wait for the walk signal. I start walking, and I’m looking around,” she said.
She described the moment she was struck by a car. “I feel myself fly on the hood of the car, I feel myself fly in the air, and it was like moving in slow motion,” Pastorino said. “I felt myself smack down on 24th Street.”
The car stopped down the street, but Pastorino was left unable to move.
“I didn’t know what was wrong. I couldn’t feel my legs, and everything hurt really bad,” she said.
Another car immediately blocked oncoming traffic, and Kylie Shields, a witness and good Samaritan, stepped in to help.
“I can’t thank you enough for getting out of your car, staying with me, and helping me,” Pastorino said to Shields when the two recently reunited.
“She was the one who stopped me from being hit and run over by another car. I truly believe she saved my life that day,” Pastorino said.
Shields called 911 and kept Pastorino calm and still.
“I was like, we cannot move you,” Shields said.
Pastorino was diagnosed with a fractured sacrum, a soft tissue injury, a deep bone bruise, and a torn gluteus minimus.
After using crutches for four days, Pastorino said she found the courage to venture out again, this time driving her car. Six days after the first crash, she was involved in another accident at 72nd and Pacific streets.
“I get the green light and start going. I just see a car flying, and then the next thing I know, I was hit,” Pastorino said.
The police report said a red-light runner hit three cars, including Pastorino’s, totaling her vehicle and leaving her physically and emotionally shaken.
She said she will never forget the alarming impact of the vehicle hitting her driver’s side and launching her car across several lanes.
“It was terrifying. I thought that I had died,” she said.
Pastorino said the airbags and pain from her previous accident had her trapped in the car. Rescuers had to cut her out of the vehicle.
“Luckily, my physical injuries, they hurt, and I’ll be OK one day. But the mental trauma from that, the anxiety and PTSD, has been so bad,” Pastorino said.
Pastorino said she’ll use her experience to emphasize the importance of road safety. She was recently a guest on a local radio show, talking about the accidents and her recovery.
“Lives depend on all of us being present, responsible, and alert on the road,” she said.
“Expect the unexpected on the road. Be a smart driver. Be a defensive driver. That’s the only way to keep people safe,” she added.
She also takes comfort in knowing there are people like Shields who step up in times of need.
“So many people would not have done that, and it’s such a blessing,” Pastorino said.
Pastorino is back to work and taking baby steps in driving again.
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