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Callahan teen opens up about surviving I-295 crash

A Callahan teenager is speaking to Action News Jax after she survived a horrific car crash that left four of her friends seriously hurt — and the driver dead.

Courtney Cox of Callahan died when troopers say her 2017 Chevy Cruze car went off I-295 near Pritchard Road and hit a tree on Friday night.

A total of six teens were in the car. All five of the survivors were badly hurt.

One of the survivors, Maycee Joiner, says she could have easily died if not for her friend.

“I can’t believe it happened,” Joiner said.

"I want to say thank you and hug your necks." Courtney Cox, 19, was killed on I-295, but a woman who identified herself as Courtney's aunt says five teens were saved by the quick responses of strangers:

Posted by Action News Jax on Monday, March 5, 2018

Joiner suffered a concussion, a broken nose, a punctured lung and two cracked ribs. She says a friend in the car helped save her.

“He grabbed onto me and pulled me tight so I wouldn’t go anywhere,” Joiner said. “I remember [the car] starting to go off the road. After that, I blacked out.

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“I went by the scene, and I cried. I couldn’t take it. It’s too much.”

Friends say Cox was a popular and outgoing woman who worked as a nursing assistant and also worked at Callahan Speedway as a timekeeper.

“[Courtney] would go around to different pits, hug and say hello,” said David Hicken, the track’s owner.

Cox will be laid to rest on Friday.

MORE: Family searches for motorists that helped save kids in I-295 crash