Living Proof of CX-5’s Safety
Jenn’s first CX-5 was handed down to her college-bound daughter and days after totaling her second CX-5, she bought another
The 2015 Mazda CX-5 is rated as a Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and received the top rating – five stars – for side impact protection and overall crash safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That was why, just two days after surviving a tremendous collision, Jenn Dietz walked into her local Mazda dealer to buy another CX-5.
“Actually, it will be my third,” Jenn revealed. “We loved our first CX-5 enough that we gave it to my daughter when she went to college out of state last year. She needed something safe and reliable. I love driving the CX-5. It should be no surprise that my next car will be another CX-5.”
Every driver’s nightmare is that moment when you know you’re about to be in a collision, and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s a moment that Jenn will never forget.
“As I was making a left-hand turn, glancing to my right and unexpectedly seeing that truck just feet from me,” Jenn said. “I remember thinking there was nothing I could do.”
The truck that hit Jenn was a five-axle dump truck, fully loaded, that struck the side of Jenn’s Mazda CX-5 at about 40 to 45 miles per hour.
“I fully believe two things saved me,” Jenn said, “God, and Mazda engineering.”
The impact was tremendous, sending Jenn and her Mazda flying.
“I remember hearing the sickening crunch of the collision, seeing the airbag deploy in front of me, and the feeling of the car sliding sideways for what seemed like forever before coming to a stop,” Jenn described. “But my space was clear and the seatbelts kept me in place. The dash had buckled up into the windshield instead of down into my legs. My door opened easily. The passenger side airbags had also gone off, protecting me from flying glass.”
While all accidents are unique and serious accidents or death are always possible, even in a Mazda, Jenn walked away from her wreck even though her beloved CX-5 was a total loss.
“As I sat in the ambulance being evaluated, one of the first things the EMT said to me was, ‘It looks like your car did its job’,” Jenn recalled. “I was dazed and in pain and having trouble breathing but even then I could recognize the truth in his statement. There was no doubt the car was totaled. But I was alive. Not only was I alive, but I’d walked into the ambulance under my own power.”
As she was being checked out, Jenn had time to reflect on what had happened.
“As I was lying in the Trauma Room, I remembered the research I’d done before buying our first CX-5,” Jenn said. “I remembered reading how well it did in the crash tests. And lying there, breathing and conscious, I knew I was living proof. That was a gift from the Mazda engineers.”
