Julia Benkofsky-Webb was glad she was driving a Volvo on April 1, 2009. It saved not only her life, but the life of her dog as well.

Her story is just one of many in the Volvo Saved My Life Club, which recognizes owners who share one belief: A Volvo saved their lives.

A resident of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Benkofsky-Webb had just picked up her dog, Puanani, from the vet on that April day when the 2005 V70 she was driving was involved in a serious accident.

 

Benkofsky-Webb was stopped at a stop sign at the bottom of a hill, preparing to make a right turn onto a bigger, two-lane road. She suddenly heard a crash and looked forward, left and right for the source of the noise.

 

That’s when she realized she was being pushed from behind; the rear of her car was caving in and broken glass was flying everywhere. “Slow motion in an instant – this remains my prominent memory – almost soundless, although loud noises caused my dog and I to startle for weeks afterward,” she remembers.

 

The crash she heard before the other vehicle hit her was its driver running into a stop sign and utility pole further up the hill. The next day, an eyewitness told her that the driver who hit her was coming down the hill at a speed of at least 50 miles per hour “driving like an absolute crazy person.”

 

The crash pushed Benkofsky-Webb’s V70 across a two-lane road, and she was fortunate that no one else ran into her. After the accident, the outside of the driver’s door appeared to be untouched with the damage occurring to the backend and passenger’s side. The body of the car absorbed the impact, so the passengers were protected.

 

“I am thankful to have been in a Volvo that day,” she said.

 

Benkofsky-Webb is now driving her fifth Volvo, a 2010 XC70, which she received at Volvo headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden.

If you believe that a Volvo has helped save your life in an accident, Volvo would like to hear your story. You can contact the Volvo Customer Care Center at customercare@volvocars.com.