A three-car collision left a local man feeling lucky to be alive.

The accident, which happened about 2 p.m., Wednesday, May 18, in the intersection of South M Street and West State Street, could have been a lot worse.

A dark blue Toyota Camry XLS was heading north on South M Street when he drove through a stop sign and hit a blue Ferrellgas bobtail propane truck, which was headed east on West State Street. When the propane truck was hit in the front-right corner of its cab, it then slid and struck a gray Chevrolet Silverado 4X4, which was heading west on West State Street and trailering a red Ford pickup truck.

At the scene, the Camry sat directly in front of Rognlin’s Inc., and it was pointed south.

The Camry’s front end was smashed in and its side and front airbags deployed, and there was glass strewn all over the intersection. But, none of the three men involved in the crash reported injuries to the responding Aberdeen Police Department officers.

APD Patrol Officer Stephen Ayers confirmed the driver of the Camry was at fault for the accident, which happened right in front of Safeway Fuel Station. Business did not look to be slowed down as the pumps were full during the accident’s cleanup.

Delvin Zimmermann, a local man who was driving the Chevrolet on West State Street, said he began turning north onto South M Street just before the point of impact.

Zimmermann explained the situation.

“I was coming from South Shore down (West State Street,)” said Zimmermann, who was standing on the sidewalk next to where his trailer was hit. “I was gonna turn right here (at South M Street) and I saw out of the corner of my eye just a flash.”

The accident, according to Zimmermann, was made worse by the Camry driver’s speed, who Zimmermann guessed was driving above the 35 mph speed limit street.

“The guy was really going fast, I mean 50-60 mph, easy,” Zimmermann said. “All I saw was a flash. I moved as far this way (toward the right side of the intersection) as I could.”

The visual of the initial impact stuck in Zimmermann’s mind as he told his story to The Daily World.

“There was like an explosion when (the Camry driver) hit (the propane truck driver,)” Zimmermann said. “I tried to avoid it. His gas truck (then) came over and hit me, and shoved me into the curb.”

Zimmermann’s trailered truck was sitting crooked on the trailer, which looked damaged.

But, Zimmermann, who sounded more concerned with how the accident happened, and grateful that the propane truck was positioned as it was — between Zimmermann and the Toyota Camry driver — at the point of impact.

“The speed of his car was so fast,” Zimmermann said. “To move that big, heavy truck?”

Zimmermann, looking at the damage to the propane truck, estimated what the truck might need to function again.

“Did you see how bad that’s damaged? The motor block, the leaf springs, he had to be going super fast,” Zimmermann said.

The bobtail propane truck was later towed away by Towing Ocean Shores. The Camry was also towed.

The Ferrellgas driver did not provide a comment, but while he was explaining to Ayers what happened, he pointed out his tire marks, which could be clearly seen on the west side of the West State Street and South M Street intersection.

Ayers said the victims described the Camry as running through the stop sign, and that the bobtail propane truck driver and Zimmermann both had the right-of-way. He also said how the accident blocked State Street traffic for about “an hour and a half.”

According to Zimmermann, neither he, nor the Ferrellgas driver were speeding.

“We were going 20-25 mph,” he said.

The chatter from nearby witnesses sounded like Zimmermann was lucky to have the bobtail propane truck positioned the way it did, as that may have saved Zimmermann’s life.

“By far, absolutely,” he said. “If he wouldn’t have been here, I’d have been (hit first) and he would have hit me broadside.”

Zimmermann then pointed out how he could almost guarantee the propane truck saved his life.

“Any small vehicle,” he said. “Anything other than that (propane truck) would have been annihilated.”