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Couple speaks on horrifying moments after semi-truck crashed into their restaurant, trapping them – ‘ I just started screaming’

Posted at 8:30 PM, Jan 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-16 23:49:37-05

WELLINGTON, Utah — A semi truck demolished their family-owned restaurant, bringing the walls crashing down around them and trapping them inside of the building - now, they are thankful to be alive.

“I can’t explain it… I can’t explain how God miraculously allowed us to survive this, both my wife and me,” said Olevit Pinal as he sat on his couch with stitches in his lip and a cut-up arm wrapped in blue tape.

Wednesday was a traumatic day for Olevit and his wife Maria.

“When I saw the truck that started to come towards the building, it didn’t give me enough time to do anything but scream at my wife to run,” Olevit’s words were translated and echoed by his personal injury attorney.

Police said a semi truck was driving too fast for conditions, when the driver came to a bend in the road his tired hit some snow and slush along the side — sending the truck hurdling towards the Pinal’s small family restaurant in Los Jilbertos.

“He just told me, you know what something is coming, just run,” Marie Jaime said as she sat next to her husband, still wearing her hospital gown.

The windows shattered, spraying glass into Olevit’s arm, the rest of the walls came crashing down around them.

“By the time i was running, I [felt] something come, everything on my back,” Maria said explaining the moment the building came down on top of her.

“The force of the impact made me fall on the ground and a table top came on top of me which is what saved me,” Olevit said.

Ole (as his wife calls him) was able to get out.

“There was just a little tiny space but I started to wiggle and move and I was finally able to move out,” Olevit explained.

But Maria was trapped.

“For a moment I just saw everything black and when I opened my eyes I just started screaming,” Maria said as she held back tears.

“The only thing I could move was my hands,” Maria said the lower half of her body was pinned, she feared if she moved things would get worse.

Olevit told police that his wife was still trapped inside.

“Somebody [the police] called my name and I just started yelling,” said Maria.

She, her husband and the semi truck driver were all taken to the hospital, miraculously all of their injuries were minor. Maria, has a broken arm and is covered in bruises and scrapes. Olevit, has broken ribs, stitches in his lip and cuts up and down his left arm from shielding his face from the glass.

“Everything hurts right now,” Marie said. “I feel pain in all of my body."

Now that the initial shock of the accident is wearing off, reality is sinking in.

“That place was everything for us,” said Maria. “We don’t have another job, this is the only thing we have."

“What am i going to do to pay the bills? I don’t know,” she said as she wiped away tears.

Still, they are thankful to be alive and for the support they’ve already seen from their community.

“We lost everything in it, but at least I have no concern that our community loves us and we love them too,” said Maria.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Pinal family, it can be found here.