LOS ANGELES (AFP) - An American woman tweeted about a horrific car crash in real time - only to find out her husband was killed in the accident, police said on Thursday.

Caran Johnson, 47, follows police scanner exchanges and began tweeting about the collision on Wednesday afternoon, the Seattle Times reported.

"This accident sounds horrible," she wrote in her first tweet, following up with "omg that is so horrible!!!" as details emerged of the crash on the 205 freeway in the northwestern US state of Washington.

Then she began to worry. "I'm trying not to panic, but my husband left work early and he drives 205 to get home. He's not answering his phone." Her next tweets, cited by the Times and screen-captured by the kgw.com news website in neighboring Oregon state, gradually grew more apprehensive.

"And he's late," she said. "Well he used his bluetooth, so he would answer his phone. He also wasn't feeling good so his work was concerned when he left."

"I'm a basket case." "I just called his work and he was feeling faint when he left work #panic."

She continued: "What do I do now? he might have pulled over because he was feeling faint and then passed out or had a seizure. he has epilepsy." "how long do i wait for him to come home before I call the police?"

She ended up calling but at first didn't get a definitive answer.

"i just called 911 and they transferred me after I gave them his license number and told me that they will call me back. wtf?" Finally, she tweeted bluntly: "it's him. he died." Her husband Craig Johnson, also 47, lost his life after his car crossed a traffic median in his Hyundai Elantra near the town of Vancouver, just north of the Oregon state line, according to Washington State Patrol spokesman William Finn.

He struck a Toyota pickup driven by a 54-year-old woman, who suffered a broken femur, collapsed lung and broken pelvis, Finn told AFP.

Officers went to her home to break the news of his death but Johnson already seemed to know, he said.

"Her suspicions were confirmed when we arrived," he told AFP, adding that Johnson came out and met the officers before they even had a chance to knock on her door.

"It appeared that she knew and we were just confirming for her," he said.

Later, the widow tweeted: "Thank you all so much for the prayers and thoughts." Her final tweet, at 10:30 p.m., stated: "My boys are finally asleep. I feel like a block of cement fell on me."