At first, this unfortunate accident looks like a bit of movie magic, but on closer inspection, it’s anything but.
A first-hand witness video showing the aftermath of a car crash in Tampa, Florida is still circulating social media months after it happened for one particular reason.
Video footage shows the aftermath between a utility pole and a Mazda 3, but the pole shoots straight out of the Mazda’s windshield with no logical point of entry from the side.
How did this utility pole sprout from the bottom of the Mazda’s floorboards, skipping right past the passenger side door?
Well, it didn’t.
Here’s the video on TikTok.
@tye.jr ##ShadowAndBone ##SkipTheRinse repost cuz tiktok soft
♬ original sound – Tye Jr
The only official report comes from Fox 13 news reporting on the original accident earlier in April this year. The accident occurred near the W. Slight Avenue and N Orleans intersection across from the c.1949 Beer Bar in Tampa, Fl.
Fox 13 reports they initially asked Tampa Police for an update but they have released no information. They do mention Tampa Electric Company crews and Tampa police where at the scene to assess the damage and take next steps.
After a bit of searching, another witness video emerged at a better angle.
The only relevant comment is from @tinybrush who mentions,
“Just drove passed again this morning. The car is gone and the pole is fine, w** is happening?”
Presumably, Tampa electric made quick work of a dangerously dangling utility pole.
Several others in the comments hypothesized what I also thought happened.
Here’s a screenshot of the location on Google Maps with the area of the pole “missing” and the direction of travel I believe the Mazda 3 was travelling when it happened.
More than likely, this Mazda 3 smashed so hard into the pole that it knocked a chunk off. You can actually see the missing piece of the pole highlighted in red below.
The pole isn’t just cemented in the ground, it’s loosely supported by intersecting utility lines running parallel and perpendicular above. The pole, briefly was unsupported but came crashing down into the stopped Mazda.
Zoom in on the windshield and you can make out the direction of force the pole traveled to make a concave impression.
While there’s no official story, these singular vehicular accidents with property damage are consistent with someone driving under the influence.
Hopefully, there wasn’t a passenger but, seeing how there aren’t signs of extraction, it’s safe to assume this only involved the driver.
So, no. A car didn’t magically apparate into the middle of a pole.
h/t- Luigi Amico
