It's every driver's worst nightmare: Humming along down a dark road in the dead of night when another rig turns the corner and barrels straight for your headlights.
Luckily, the driver in this situation's split-second reflexes saved the day.
"He did everything he could," Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson said of the operator. "If he hadn’t done what he had done, it would have been headlight to headlight."
A police report on the crash indicated that the truck that crossed the center line was traveling East on State Route 18 near milepost 26 when the incident occurred. That truck "sideswiped" the second truck, "ripping open" its own trailer and "causing cargo to go all over the roadway," the report said.
Luckily, both drivers are without injury. Johnson said that the offending driver here tested negative for any kind of impairment, and it's unclear why he was over the line.
"A citation will be issued, not sure if it’s going to be negligent driving or crossing the center line, but it was near construction so the lanes are very, very well marked," said Johnson. "Maybe just a combination of speed and just not paying attention."
We've all seen drivers watching movies, texting, or otherwise distracted on the road. This time, luckily, it ended up with little more than a food-grade mess to be cleaned up off the road.
[Related: Driver caught using tablet at highway speeds on I-80]
While not every driver likes using dashcams, the footage from this one shows just how quick on his feet the driver was, slowing down and maneuvering just in time to avoid the worst of it.
The drivers, both men, one 60 and one 47, were wearing seatbelts. Here are the shocking videos from WSP below:
