Survivor recounts horrific wrong-way crash on SR 512 in Pierce County



PUYALLUP, Wash.  -- Casey Rinehart can recount the entire horrific event when a wrong-way driver crashed into him and four other drivers before coming to a stop on State Route 512 in Pierce County.

Rinehart said, "I was going this way and he hit me and then went off the other way and hit me hard enough he spun me in a complete circle and hit the guardrail and came to a rest facing west in eastbound lanes.”

Rinehart managed to walk away with broken ribs, a punctured lung and a badly bruised left leg. The driver who caused the accident, Robnert Delacruz, died in the fiery crash and also killed another driver.

Troopers expect to get the results of his blood tests on Tuesday. Delacruz has been arrested for driving under the influence before.

Rinehart knows he could have died in the crash.

"Everybody tells me you`re lucky to be alive and that I have a guardian angel watching over me," he said.

Doctors say Rinehart should make a full recovery.