Caught on camera: Man recounts near collision in East Islip parking lot
The near collision happened Christmas Eve in a shopping center off of Montauk Highway.
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Matt Calamusso's wedding day is on Saturday, but he almost ended up not being able to celebrate it with family and friends after a driver nearly struck him in an East Islip parking lot.
The close call was caught on camera.
The near collision happened Christmas Eve in a shopping center off of Montauk Highway.
Calamusso says he was at a laundromat and was leaving to drive to go to his dad's home when things took a strange turn.
He says while backing out, he heard what sounded like a car hitting a utility pole.
He says at that moment, he had a split decision to make - either drive forward or move backward.
He continued to go backward, and within seconds, a white van hit a parked car, narrowly missing Calamusso's black truck.
The 33-year-old says he didn't realize how close he came to being seriously injured - or even worse - in that near collision until he says he saw the surveillance video from the laundromat.
He describes what happened to him as a holiday miracle.
"I feel very lucky and fortunate that I didn't get hurt and no one else got hurt because he hit a car that was parked and no one was in it so I just feel lucky that I'm here. I do not think I would have been killed but it would have been a bad injury for sure and I wouldn't have made it to my wedding," he says.
The driver of the white van stayed on the scene. No charges were filed.
