Statesville, NC : Driver recounts walking away from horrific Statesville crash on Saturday, March 25th 2017

Robert Kontos, 62, had no idea anything was remarkable about the car crash he walked away.

Then he saw the photos of his mangled vehicle.

Those pictures showed his 2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 impaled on a guardrail on Highway 70 east of Stamey Farm Road south of Statesville. The potentially deadly metal railing crashed through the driver’s side door, through the cab, and exited the passenger’s door.

The car, which had spun off the road, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol, continued down an embankment, pulling the guardrail down with it. The result looked a bit like a shish kabob, with the red sports car skewered by several feet of railing.

Kontos was untouched by the guardrail that impaled his high-powered car.

“Most people think it was a miracle,” Kontos said Wednesday. “They are calling me the miracle man.”

Kontos said he was wearing green shoelaces for St. Patrick’s Day. But his close shave with death was more the work of a higher power than luck-granting leprechauns, he claimed.

“I guess someone did have their hand on me,” he said. “God had to have been looking after me and said ‘It’s not time for you.’”

His wife was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and his 37-year-old daughter is disabled and still lives at home, Kontos said. He said he is glad he is able to still be around for them.

His survival is all the more remarkable because his airbag didn’t deploy. In fact, that’s probably why he’s still alive, he said.

“If the airbag would have gone off it would have pushed me back and then the guardrail would have probably killed me, you know?” Kontos said. “I think it would have cut me in half.”

Instead, the rail shot through the car directly behind him. It didn’t even cut his back.

He was treated at Iredell Memorial Hospital after suffering some injuries he’s still recovering from. He was released by 10:30 a.m., two hours after the wreck took place, he said. Scans showed he broke no bones, although his back, neck and chest were sore and he had various scrapes and cuts, including a gash on his leg.

Trooper D.C. Neill with the N.C. Highway Patrol said he was shocked when he arrived at the scene and found Kontos walking around.

“He was not ejected and he walked away from it,” Neill said. “I don’t know how to describe it other than lucky, I guess.”

Neill said Kontos drove left of center and overcorrected while traveling east. His car began to spin, and the guardrail on the right-side of the road struck the driver’s side door.

Kontos said he was trying to find his wallet in his car when he lost control of the car. He called the mistake “stupid.” The crash report estimated he was traveling between 5 and 10 mph above the posted speed limit of 45.

Kontos was charged with failing to maintain lane control.

The Mustang, which he bought about eight months ago, was Kontos’ dream car, one he had wanted for a long time, he said. He affectionately named it Shelly. It was a favorite of his daughter, too, he said.

But the loss of the car isn’t what Kontos said he will remember most. His biggest takeaway is the value of his own life.

“When I left that morning, talking to my wife at the door, I told her I loved her,” and she returned the sentiment, Kontos said. “You never know when it’s the time to go, so you always want to leave loved ones on good terms. Because you can leave any second. You aren’t promised another minute.”

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Driver recounts walking away from horrific Statesville crash