A teenager who was distracted while driving ran off U.S. 17 and hita guardrail near the Neuse River Bridge on Tuesday afternoon, but escaped the wreck unhurt, authorities said.

Heather Sleeis, 19, of New Bern, was on U.S. 17  near Bridgeton about 3 p.m.  when she ran off the road, overcorrected and hit the guardrail, said Trooper Thomas Wetherington of  the N.C. Highway Patrol.

"She  told us she was paying attention to another car and just ran off the road," Wetherington said. "She totaled her Mitsubishi, but she was not injured."

Sleeis was alone in the car, he said.

Because the wreck was in a heavily traveled area along U.S. 17, it drew a lot of spectators and was initially thought to be a larger accident, he said.

"The first call we got was that it was a three-car wreck," Wetherington said. "It turned out that most of the people were just stopping to check on her and see if she was OK."

Sleeis was cited for failing to stay in the correct lane.

Wetherington said the young driver was lucky that she was not seriously injured.

"It just goes back to what we say all the time: Keep your eyes on the road," he said. "It only takes a few seconds of not paying attention to end up in really bad shape."