Sam Champion escapes car crash with bruises

Saturday, August 30th 2008, 4:00 AM

Sam Champion

"Good Morning America" weathercaster Sam Champion narrowly missed becoming a highway statistic Friday when the car he was riding in slammed into a jackknifed tractor-trailer on Long Island.

"I was looking down and Brian, the driver, said, 'Look out.' He hit the brakes really hard. You could see the front of the truck coming at the car," Champion told WABC/Ch. 7.

"I remember thinking, 'This is bad. This is bad. This is really, really bad!" he added.

Champion and his driver, both wearing seat belts, suffered minor scrapes and bruises.

Neither required medical treatment, according to an ABC News spokesman.

The accident happened Friday just before 11 a.m. when Champion and his driver were going east on the Long Island Expressway. They were traveling between Exit 39 and Exit 40 when the crash occurred.

The car Champion was in hit the tractor-trailer as it was jackknifing.

The wreck also involved other vehicles.

"It was scary, but an amazing relief that we were both okay," Champion told Ch. 7.

The highway was closed four hours as workers cleaned up the wreck, snarling traffic for hours.

The popular Champion was the weathercaster for Ch. 7 from 1988 through 2006, when he jumped to ABC News' "Good Morning America." Since joining the a.m. show, Champion has frequently traveled to weather hot spots.

Indeed, he's scheduled to head to the Gulf Coast tomorrow in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Gustav, which is expected to hit that region early next week.