He posed for the photograph, taken by another truck driver involved in the Saturday 50-driver pileup, which left 18-wheelers sprawled across the icy freeway outside Baker City, Oregon.
Whitby described the terrifying moments before his unlikely survival to The Oregonian, saying he swerved to avoid a jackknifed truck - only to get crushed by another out-of-control big rig.
He had been driving up an incline behind the vehicle for a while, Whitby said, but backed away because the fog was so thick.
The next time he saw it, the big rig was splayed across the lanes of the freeway, leaving him nowhere to go.
He tried to swerve round it but hit the back end and was left sitting on the road, side-on to approaching traffic.
Next, he noticed a second big rig barrelling towards him, with no way to avoid him. "I just braced and hoped that everything would be all right," Whitby said.
The next thing he knew, the crash was over and he was surrounded by broken glass and mangled metal - but was otherwise unharmed.
Whitby, a farmer from Pasco, Washington, managed to cut himself free of his seatbelt and move the steering column from his leg.
He then shouted for help - and was rescued by Sergi Karplyuk, who drove the second truck in the crash. Whitby, now safe, posed for the incredible picture before getting out.
After looking himself over, Whitby realised he was hardly injured at all. He told The Oregonian: "I've got two Band-Aids on my right ring finger. And a little bit of ice on my left eye."
Twelve people were taken to hospital as a result of the pileup, one of whom was in critical condition yesterday.
-Daily Mail
