Seven years ago, police in North Carolina covered shooting victim Marcelo Cruz with a tarp, believing he was dead. He wasn't. Cruz survived the street fight shooting, but was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Wednesday when he drove onto the Interstate 35W bridge just after 6 p.m., only to see the bridge in front of him start to shake -- and in a few short seconds, tumble down.

Cruz saw 10 or 20 cars in front of him plunge into the water. He applied the brakes, but on the now-sloping bridge deck, he couldn't stop.

Cruz swerved, and plowed his van into the concrete guard rail. It worked -- the van stopped, less than 15 feet from what was now the end of the bridge before it dropped into the Mississippi River.

Now trapped in his van on the bridge -- unable get out because of the sharp angle -- Cruz said he heard a woman screaming from below. Then she stopped.

Finally, two rescue workers saw him and helped him reach safety.

cnn.com