– It’s like being in a movie. I saw the bridge broke, the asphalt met and I was in the middle, said Mari Slåen (24) to Dagbladet.

He was on his way to his first day of school as a teacher on Monday morning, when the Tretten bridge collapsed. In addition to the car he was traveling in, a truck was also swept away.

Slåen, who first spoke to the local newspaper DGfrantically tried to back away when he saw the first broken edge, but to no avail.

– It felt like a very long time, but it didn’t take a few seconds before I was on the edge of my chair.

– In shock

When Dagbladet spoke to her, the 24-year-old woman had already completed a police interview and a health check.

– It went really well. I just have a little headache. It’s not so strange, I’m in shock.

He says he managed to stay calm in the seconds and minutes after the bridge collapsed: Get out of the car, call 113, and climb over one of the railings to get ashore.

– It’s going really well. You get some powers you don’t normally have, he says.

It was only when he arrived on land, he said, that the shock occurred. Emergency services have not yet arrived at the scene. Meanwhile, she was well looked after by some employees from Tine’s dairy company at the end of the bridge.

Borrowed my mom’s car

Slåen waited to call his parents until he arrived at the beach.

Since his own car broke down, he borrowed his mother’s car that day to go to work.

– I know it recognizes people. Luckily, I was able to tell them before the photos went viral, but after I was safe. The car was still standing there, bobbing.

– How do they react when you tell them what you’re going through?

The newly qualified teacher described the experience as “dramatic.” He feels he has received good follow-up so far, and looks forward to returning to work to meet with his class on the second day of school.