It

[Allen165]

I heard someone say the following:

"If you're wondering what a crash looks like, it's about to happen." I would've said, "...one's about to happen."

Which is better?

Thanks.

 

[Heterological]

Your usage is correct, and I suspect, though I'm not sure, that the other person's usage is wrong. However, there are certain things that are so commonly said wrongly that the right usage sounds stilted and awkward. This may be one of those cases!

 

[Abstract Idea]

I heard someone say the following:

"If you're wondering what a crash looks like, it's about to happen." I would've said, "...one's about to happen."

Which is better?

Thanks.

If one stops to think about the correct usage of the pronoun, he misses the crash!!!

But writing something more relevant, I guess for spoken English that sentence is OK.

Since you only heard it, who knows whether he really said:
"If you're wondering what a crash looks like ... It's about to happen!"
But anyway, even this version does not solve the problem.

Maybe in order to use 'it', the crash should be defined, like:
"If you're wondering what that crash I told you about looks like, it's about to happen."