Wrong-way wreck victim lives to tell more about crash on Highway 59

CLEVELAND, TX (KTRK) -- The woman who survived a wrong-way crash in Cleveland Monday tells Eyewitness News that she doesn't remember the impact. But she remembers every horrifying moment after she came-to.

"I remember looking at the time and thinking 'oh it's 6:30. I'm finally going to get home before 7 so I can tuck my baby in,'" says Brianne Potter.

And moments later, a woman driving south in the northbound lanes of 59 slammed into Potter head-on at full speed.

"I remember a vehicle in front of me, a black truck, just swerved. All I remember is seeing the grill of a white truck," she said.

Potter says after that white truck hit her, another car hit her on the side. A good Samaritan helped her out of the car. LifeFlight flew her to Memorial Hermann. She was released Tuesday. She has stitches on her eyelid, a potentially broken collarbone, bruises, and some serious cuts.

"I have about a dime-sized hole in the back of my arm that you could probably stick your pinky into. And I can't lift my left arm," Potter shares. "I remember trying to touch my face and see what exactly was there, and there was just blood everywhere and I just kept constantly picking glass out of my eyes."

She says she never imagined this happening.

"Whenever you drive by these accidents you always say you're going to pray for the people. But you really don't know the extent of it until you're in a helicopter," Potter said.

Cleveland police tell us they still have a lot of questions. Investigators haven't been able to interview the wrong-way driver in the hospital because of her condition.

"We're still trying to determine where she got on the freeway at going the wrong way and why she was going the wrong way on the freeway," says Sgt. David Edwards.

That driver hit five cars in all and forced a sixth one off the road. Sgt. David Edwards says anything could have caused her to drive the wrong way.

"We've had it where elderly drivers get confused where they got on the freeway," he says. "DWI is the most common cause for it. Also we've seen where there are underlying medical issues."

Potter says the most important thing is that she's around to be there for her daughters.

"I'm thankful that I'm alive. I don't know many people that are actually able to walk away from a head-on collision," Potter said.

She says the only reason she was able to walk away was because she was wearing her seat belt.

Potter, who is a medical assistant, tells Eyewitness News she is not able to use her left arm. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help her and her family cover the unexpected expenses that resulted from this accident.

The woman responsible remains in the hospital. Cleveland police say they are treating this as a criminal investigation.