If you’ve ever watched Law & Order: SVU and wondered about the zig-zag scar on Mariska Hargitay’s head, you aren't alone. It’s not a makeup effect or a prop. It’s a permanent reminder of a night in 1967 that changed Hollywood history and the life of a three-year-old girl forever.
The short answer is yes. Mariska Hargitay was in the car during the horrific accident that killed her mother, the 1950s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield.
It's one of those stories that feels like a dark urban legend, but the reality is much more complex—and recently, even more shocking details have come to light through Mariska’s own 2025 documentary, My Mom Jayne. This wasn't just a car crash; it was a miracle of survival mixed with a terrifying mistake that almost left a toddler to die on a dark Louisiana highway.
The Night Everything Went Wrong on Highway 90
Picture this: It’s June 29, 1967. 2:25 a.m.
The humidity in the South is thick, and a mosquito-fogging truck has just passed through, leaving a literal wall of white chemical fog hanging over U.S. Route 90. Jayne Mansfield was in a 1966 Buick Electra 225, heading from a nightclub gig in Biloxi, Mississippi, to New Orleans for a morning TV appearance.
In the front seat were three adults: the driver Ronnie Harrison, Jayne’s boyfriend Sam Brody, and Jayne herself.
In the back? Three of her children. Mariska, just three years old, was asleep alongside her brothers, Mickey Jr. (8) and Zoltan (6).
They were traveling fast. Some reports say 80 mph. Because of that fog and the slow-moving tractor-trailer in front of them, the driver never saw the truck until it was too late. The Buick slammed into the back of the trailer, sliding underneath it. The impact was so violent it sheared the roof clean off the car.
The three adults in the front died instantly. But the kids in the back? They were sleeping. Because they were lying down, the trailer passed right over them.
The Shocking Reveal: Mariska Was Left Behind
For decades, the public narrative was that the three children were pulled from the wreckage and rushed to the hospital. But in 2025, Mariska shared a detail in her documentary that makes your skin crawl.
She was actually forgotten at the scene.
According to her brother Zoltan, the emergency responders pulled him and Mickey Jr. out and started to move them away. It was pitch black, chaotic, and gruesome. It wasn't until Zoltan woke up and frantically asked, "Where is my sister?" that the adults realized there was a third child in the car.
Mariska had been thrown or lodged under the front passenger seat. She was covered in blood and had a serious head injury—the source of that famous scar—but she was alive. If her brother hadn't spoken up, who knows how long she would have stayed there in the wreckage of that Buick.
The "Mansfield Bar" Legacy
You’ve seen them on every semi-truck on the road. Those steel bars that hang down from the back of a trailer? They’re officially called underride guards, but everyone in the industry knows them as Mansfield Bars.
That crash was so high-profile and so grisly that it forced the federal government to realize that cars were simply sliding under trucks like a hot knife through butter. The industry fought it, of course. These things always take time. But eventually, the requirement for those bars became law.
Every time you see one of those bars, you’re looking at a safety feature born directly from the night Mariska Hargitay survived.
Living With the Ghost of Jayne Mansfield
Mariska has been very open about the fact that she doesn't actually remember the crash. She was too young. Honestly, maybe that's a blessing. She told Vanity Fair she doesn't even have solid memories of her life until she was about five.
But she grew up in the shadow of a "blonde bombshell" mother she never really knew. People constantly compared them. For a long time, Mariska tried to distance herself from it. You can see it in her early career choices—she didn't want to be the "sex symbol" her mother was.
She ended up playing Olivia Benson, a character defined by empathy, strength, and protection. It’s poetic, in a way. The girl who was left behind in a wreckage grew up to play a woman who never leaves anyone behind.
Why the Story is Resurfacing Now
The interest in "was Mariska Hargitay in the car" spiked recently because of her directorial debut with the HBO documentary My Mom Jayne. She’s finally reclaiming the narrative.
For years, people obsessed over the "decapitation" rumors—which, for the record, weren't strictly true (the police report said "the upper portion of her head was severed," but it wasn't a full decapitation). Mariska’s film moves away from the gore and focuses on the woman: an actress with a 163 IQ who spoke five languages.
Quick Facts from the Incident:
- The Date: June 29, 1967.
- The Vehicle: 1966 Buick Electra 225.
- The Survivors: Mariska, Zoltan, and Mickey Hargitay Jr.
- The Injury: Mariska suffered a "zig-zag" head wound that left a permanent scar.
- The Location: Near Slidell, Louisiana, on Hwy 90.
Moving Toward Healing
If you're looking for a takeaway from this tragedy, look at how Mariska handled the aftermath. She didn't let the "victim" label stick. Instead, she used her platform to start the Joyful Heart Foundation, helping survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
She basically took the broken pieces of her own history and turned them into a shield for others.
If you want to understand the full scope of this story, the best thing you can do is watch the archival footage from the late '60s regarding the "Mansfield Bar" legislation. It shows just how much one tragedy can change national safety standards. You might also check out her documentary on Max, as it provides the most "human" look at the tragedy through the eyes of the siblings who were actually there in the backseat.
The scar on her head isn't just a mark of a crash; it's a mark of survival.
Next Steps for Readers:
Check out the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) archives if you’re curious about how the "Mansfield Bar" requirements have evolved into modern "Rear Impact Guards." Seeing the crash test comparisons between cars with and without those bars makes it very clear why the Hargitay kids' survival was nothing short of a statistical miracle.