ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) -- An Indiana woman is alive today despite being impaled by a 12-foot metal fence post that pierced through her mouth and came out the back of her neck in a car accident.

Emergency crews had to saw off part of the one-inch thick fence rail to free Alejandra Martinez, who was still awake when crews arrived at the scene. Fire officials say they were shocked to find her alive.

The fire chief in Anderson, near Indianapolis, says the woman had a picture of the Madonna on her rear-view mirror. She's in critical condition.

Authorities say she drove through a stop sign at an intersection yesterday and hit another car. She then lost control, went through a chain-link fence and hit a concrete porch. The metal rod went through the driver's side of the windshield. A passenger wasn't hurt.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)