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Lydia Kessinger vividly recalls being thrown from the bed of a truck after attempting to secure a mattress with her body the day before her wedding.
"I remember the whole thing," Lydia said in a PSA released by the Utah Department of Transportation Thursday, reminding drivers of National Secure Your Load Day.
"I remember flying out of the truck. I ended up on the ground. I'm pretty sure I landed on my back and then bounced off because the whole front of me got injured, but the back of me was fine," she recalled.
Lydia explained she and now-husband, Alex Kessinger, were transporting a mattress to their new home in Provo, Utah. As he drove, she tried to use her body weight to keep it from flying out of the truck bed, in lieu of strapping it down in an effort to save time.
At 50 mph, Lydia and the mattress became airborne, lifted out of the truck, and landed on the road.
"I'm looking in my rearview mirror and I see my fiancée rolling away from me, my first thought was that she had died," Alex said, speaking with KSTU-TV.
Luckily, she escaped with her life, in exchange for severe road rash, cuts and bruises, and managed to crawl to the side of the road before getting hit by oncoming traffic.
Alex was able to get to her.
"She turns to me and she smiles and her teeth are just ground up by the road," he said in the PSA, admitting their plan was to save "two or three" minutes by foregoing strapping down the mattress.
Lydia was treated for her injuries at a local hospital, and was able to make it to their April 27 nuptials, the next day.
"A lot of people were able to overlook the stupidity and really come and support both of us in the time that we needed it," Alex told KSTU.
After their big day, Lydia spent about 100 hours getting treated for her injuries at doctors' and dentists' offices.
The couple is urging the public to secure their loads.
