A towing company employee was lucky to avoid a chain reaction crash that damaged 14 cars yesterday.

James McKenna had a very close call as he was driving westbound on the Cross County Parkway about 7:30 a.m. yesterday. He was on his way to work at County Towing in Yonkers when suddenly a major accident unfolded in front of him. "It started out with a Lincoln town car spinning out right in front of me," says McKenna.

Somehow the Lincoln missed McKenna and he was able to keep going. But when he looked in his rear view mirror he witnessed a terrible sight. "I'm actually seeing cars going all over the place, smashing into guard rails, smashing into each other, there was just total chaos."

Two of the cars actually caught fire and when it was over, about 14 cars were involved.

McKenna arrived at work and immediately headed back out to the accident site. "The tow trucks got there safely and through the day kept taking the cars off the road."

All the cars involved were brought back to the yard at County Towing. Only four people were taken to the hospital with just minor injuries.

McKenna says that when conditions are that bad, the safe thing to do is not drive. "When you see black ice pulling out of your driveway, staying home [is the] best thing to do."