Rep. Jetton in I-55 accident

Daily American Republic

State Rep. Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, is counting his blessings. He credits the seat belt on his van for saving his life Sunday.

Jetton was alone in his van on Interstate 55 near Festus, Mo., on his way back from a St. Louis Rams football game when he hit a patch of ice on a bridge and his van started to slide. It slid into a ditch, flipping about eight times before coming to rest on its roof.

Jetton walked away with just scratches and bruises.

"The Missouri Highway Patrol said anytime people flip as many times as I did, they're usually dead or seriously injured," Jetton said. "When I first started sliding, I didn't know how deep the drop was, and I thought maybe I was going to slide into a ditch and hit a fence. I was worried about damaging the van. Then, when I started flipping, I started thinking I'm going to die."

A tractor-trailer rig and a highway patrol car behind him also slid out of control but landed on the other side of the highway where the drop is not as deep. Jetton said the patrolman, whom he had met before and was also returning from the Rams game, had seen the van flip and was surprised when Jetton ran back up the embankment to the patrol car to see if the trooper needed help.

The trooper took Jetton home that night.