Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Olympia resident Jeff Stone was crossing the Fourth Avenue bridge in his pickup when the Feb. 28 earthquake started. He thought his truck axle had broken, but he soon discovered the problem was bigger than his pickup, he said.

'I couldn't have got any closer to death'

RUTH LONGORIA, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- Reflecting on the 6.8 magnitude South Sound earthquake, 52-year-old Jeff Stone can't believe his luck.

At 10:54 a.m. last Wednesday, Stone was driving his 1997 Ford 150 pickup across Olympia's Fourth Avenue bridge.

And, although he didn't understand what was happening at the time, Stone is one of many folks grateful to have survived the earth-shattering experience.

"I got to the bridge at just the right moment -- I couldn't have got any closer to death," Stone said. "If that baby had snapped, I'd have been the first fatality."

The first jolt of the quake sent his truck veering to the right. It felt like the axle on his truck broke, Stone said.

"I was maybe halfway across the bridge and I thought I either ran into the side of the bridge or blew out a tire. I felt a thump, then a thump, thump. The truck shifted right, then left, then right again.

"Later, when I looked at the bridge, I could see right where I was during that moment. The cracks go right, left, then right again."

Stone said he knew he shouldn't stop on the bridge, even though he feared his new truck had fallen apart.

He drove to the marine business on the west side of the bridge, got out and began inspecting the truck.

"I stumbled out of the truck and didn't realize the ground was still moving. I thought it was just me being clumsy," he said.

He was surprised when another vehicle stopped and the driver asked him if there had just been an earthquake.

"I hate to say this, but I was kind of relieved when I found out it was an earthquake," Stone said. "I'd have been really upset if my truck was broken."

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