Man walks away from violent crash without a scratch

NEVA -- A Laona man was completely unharmed after his vehicle hurtled off the road and slammed through a grove of trees early Thursday morning north of Antigo.

Dwayne Demontigny, 62, was traveling southbound on County Road A near its intersection with County Road O just before 2:30 a.m. Thursday when a deer crossed into his path. He swerved to miss it.

“At that split second when the deer came out, the road was still straight, but by the time I went to avoid it, it was turning to the right and I couldn’t [stay on it],” Demontigny said. “So my car went straight, and it looked like the road was going, but the deer distracted me at that perfect time, unfortunately.”

Demontigny’s vehicle, a Hyundai Tucson SUV, crossed the oncoming traffic lane and the ditch on the east side of the road before striking multiple trees and eventually coming to a rest.

Demontigny was not cited for the incident, although the crash report filed by the Langlade County Sheriff’s Office stated he was also distracted by his phone prior to leaving the road.

Central Wisconsin Towing Owner Marlin Zimmerman, who responded to the accident, said it was likely among the top ten percent of worst accidents he has seen in terms of vehicle damage.

“When I actually got to the vehicle, it was sitting on top of tree stumps, trees were fallen all around it, and it was very difficult to see anything or to even get to the vehicle,” Zimmerman said. “There was almost nothing that was not damaged. It was scraped on both sides. The rear axle, the rear driver tire, and strut assembly was ripped completely out. The engine and transmission were torn out of the vehicle. The hood was ripped up and thrown back. It was pretty much damaged all the way around.”

He said certain aspects of the accident were unusual.

“It’s not common to get there and see the motor and transmission detached entirely from the vehicle - that is very uncommon,” Zimmerman said. “The other surprising thing was the way everything presented: trees all around, crashed vehicle, and the man was basically unharmed. He was shook up very much, but really sustained no injuries at all. That was very surprising. Probably it was largely due to a good air bag system, and just the way he hit it. I’d say it was a miracle that he actually was able to take blunt force to the vehicle like that and walk away.”

Demontigny, who was trapped in the vehicle until a deputy from the Langlade County Sheriff’s Office arrived, spoke of the accident in similar terms, calling the fact that he exited the vehicle unscathed “amazing.”

“I just walked out of there like nothing happened. I was standing there stunned,” he said. “It happened so quick. But time slowed down - it felt like the clock just slowed right down. Everything felt cushiony. I heard bangs, and then it just stopped. Every airbag deployed in the car…I couldn’t get out. The next thing I know, the cops were there within minutes. It was like they were just standing at the end of the road waiting for me. Everything happened so fast.”