With the mangled truck lying on its side and logs strewn across the highway, Vern Skogan rolled up his sleeve to show off the injury.

"Just a scrape," he said with a smile, as he turned his left wrist.

The 25-year-old driver was grateful to be alive following a spectacular accident on the inland Island Highway, south of Campbell River.

Just after 10 a.m., Skogan was behind the wheel of a fully-loaded logging truck, owned by Blue Mountain Trucking.

He was in the northbound lane, approaching the Duncan Bay Main overpass, when the front right tire blew out.

"I started heading into the ditch and then I pulled back and hit the median," he said by the roadside. "That's when all hell broke loose."

When the truck began sliding sideways, the trailer jack-knifed and flipped on its side, sending logs skidding across the highway and into the southbound lane. Several concrete medians were also wiped out.

The freshly-cut second-growth timber ripped off the front part of the truck and, miraculously, barely touched the cab Skogan was riding in.

"You are so lucky," said another driver who clapped Skogan on the shoulder as he walked by the carnage.

RCMP said it was fortunate there were no other vehicles in either lane when the accident occurred. The highway was closed for at least four hours as clean-up crews attended to the scene.

As for Skogan, he was surprisingly chipper after the accident, but said he may need a drink when he's at home tonight. He also offered some good advice to all motorists.

"Wear your seatbelt! That's what saved me," he said.

The accident remains under investigation by police and Commercial Vehicle Inspection.