By AccuWeather meteorologist and staff writer
Updated Feb. 12, 2021 2:39 PM EST
What started off as a short drive to visit his mother near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ended in disaster for Richard Lee Oliver. That seemingly mundane journey turned into a trip that ultimately sent him to the hospital with life-changing injuries.
It was a typical winter day in the Milwaukee area when Oliver hit the road on Saturday, Feb. 6, with occasional flurries and temperatures struggling to reach the teens. The sun was shining following several batches of accumulating snowfall in the week leading up to the accident.
The roads appeared to be clear on traffic cameras from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, but snow from the recent storms had built up along the shoulder of Interstate 94, including on the Zoo interchange ramp in West Allis, Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee.
As Oliver, 34, drove onto the overpass, his truck hit the snow that had built up along the shoulder, causing him to lose control and go careening off the elevated highway.
“There was just too much snow on the side of the road that once the tires got into like 2 foot of snow there’s no controlling a vehicle of any kind,” Oliver said during an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
His truck plummeted 70 feet before landing on another highway below, miraculously missing other vehicles and leaving Oliver trapped and clinging to life.
The terrifying moment was captured on video by a traffic cam operated by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Footage of the heart-stopping plunge went viral on the internet and made national headlines.
Two people that witnessed the crash immediately rushed to the scene, including a man that helped Oliver with one of the most important phone calls of his life.
“He helped me in the bed of my truck and helped me call my mom just in case I wasn’t going to make it,” Oliver recalled from his hospital bed, fighting back tears.
Fortunately, Oliver was alone in his truck when the accident took place.
“I was thankful that he was alive,” Oliver’s fiancé Candice told Good Morning America while at Oliver’s side. “We have a 6-month-old baby at home, so just really happy that he made it through it and that nobody else was hurt.”
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The road to recovery may be a long one for Oliver as he suffered a broken back, among other injuries, The Associated Press reported.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for medical bills and for what is ahead after Oliver is released from the hospital.
“He has multiple injuries that do not allow him to have the ability to walk or care for himself. He will need a special wheelchair and a home that is accessible for wheelchairs,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Please help our family recover and get Richard to a stable place.”
Donations can be made on GoFundMe to help Oliver and his family by clicking here.
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