Hollywood star Minnie Driver has said she is "so grateful to be alive" following a serious car accident in Paris. The 56-year-old actress suffered a sprained neck in the crash, which occurred while she was travelling down a country road in a Kia EV2 with her friend, actor Ben Homewood.
Crash details
Another car failed to stop at an intersection and hit them at speed, causing a T-bone collision. Driver and Homewood were taken to hospital, where Driver was treated for a sprained neck. In a video posted on Instagram, she is seen wearing a protective blue neck brace.
"I got into a really bad car accident a few days ago, with my friend Ben and we somehow walked out of it. Well we didn't walk out of it, we crawled out of it, but we did get out of it alive," she said in the clip.
Survival credited to car design
Driver credited the design of the Kia EV2, particularly its 360-degree airbags, with saving their lives. "The reason that I'm not dead is the car that we were driving. We were in this tiny little Kia EV2. I've never been in a crash before, but the 360 degree airbags are what saved our lives. The fact that the entire car didn't concertina and crush us is down to the design of that car, which is frankly astonishing," she explained.
She also praised the car company directly: "So Kia, you are a baller car company. You're amazing. And thanks very much from me and my mate Ben Homewood. And my family and the people who love me."
Emotional aftermath
In the caption accompanying the video, Driver admitted she was struggling emotionally. "My brain keeps replaying the crash which is very hard but seems to be a necessary part of processing. Weeping too, feels good and helpful. Thank you to my friends, my family, all the people at work and especially my friend Ben and his family. I love you," she wrote.
She also expressed gratitude to a van driver who stopped to help before ambulances arrived, while noting another driver drove off without stopping. Driver, best known for her role in Good Will Hunting, is back in London recovering.
