MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Murfreesboro couple is counting their blessings after narrowly escaping their burning car following a hit-and-run crash. It happened on I-24 East near the Sam Ridley Parkway exit Saturday night.
“I just feel so thankful to be alive. I feel I’ve been given a chance at life because I literally did think I was going to die,” Sophie Newsome explained.
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In an instant, a drive on I-24 turned Newsome and her fiancé Austin Markos’ lives upside down. Saturday, around 8:40 pm, witnesses say a black Dodge sedan was driving recklessly.
“They were just weaving in and out of traffic,” Newsome said, leading to a two-car crash Markos explained.
The couple felt a bump and then their car began spiraling out of control. “It seemed like forever in the moment but looking back it happened so fast. Before I knew it, we were on the ground,” Newsome said.
The car flipped, landing on its side, with Markos and Newsome trapped inside. That is when some Good Samaritans raced in to help. “Thank God they were there in what seemed like an instant,” said Markos.
The couple calls the men that stopped their guardian angels as they cut the airbag and seatbelt, helping the two escape just in time. Newsome crawled out of the wreckage as the car quickly became engulfed in flames.
“It’s overwhelming how good God is, that we were protected and had guardian angels helping us.”
Markos and Newsome are grateful they walked away, however, the college students still lost a significant amount in the fire—including their only car, laptops, and phones. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the couple that is set to tie the knot in September.
Family and friends are offering a $3,000 reward to help find the driver of the black Dodge sedan. Anyone with information can remain anonymous by contacting the family at helpformarkos@gmail.com.