SEATTLE -- The motorcyclist who was thrown from a state Route 520 overpass into Lake Washington told reporters Friday how she survived the accident.

Reshel Reid, 40, said she had a dream about the same kind of crash in the same location and that she knew she couldn't panic.

Video: Crash Survivor Tells Story

"I don't know how to explain it. I was at peace. I knew I was not going to die," she said at a news conference at Harborview Medical Center.

She said she was on her way to an interview Thursday morning when her 2005 Suzuki motorcycle hit wet pavement on the Lake Washington Blvd. exit from SR 520.

"I saw it coming and went 'OK, I'm going to hit the rail, I'm going to hit it hard and I'm going to fall over and I'm going in the water."

Reid said she grabbed part of the railing and purposely flipped herself over into the water. She still had her helmet on when she hit.

She quickly found a piece of driftwood, grabbed onto it and made her way to land some 50 yards away.

Eventually, she heard a man's voice say, "Hey, it's going to be OK. They're coming."

Reid said she was embarrassed that the incident brought television coverage, but said she hopes other people will hear her story and learn an important lesson.

"There's so much to life that's worth living for," she said.

Reid said she was not speeding at the time of the accident and she has not been cited by police.

She said she is still learning to ride her motorcycle, which she purchased in July, and that she will ride it again.