PHOENIX — An Arizona woman is fortunate to not have been seriously hurt after a four-foot iron pole fell off a truck in front of her and went through her vehicle's windshield and became lodged in the center back seat, narrowly missing the woman behind the wheel.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said it also serves as a grave reminder to people hauling items to make sure everything is tied down and secure.
"A driver who failed to properly secure their load nearly cost an innocent motorist her life yesterday [Thursday]," DPS said in a Facebook post Friday.
DPS said the woman was driving along State Route 51 Thursday morning when the truck in front of her "hit a bump in the roadway near Thomas Road, causing a roughly four-foot-long iron pole to dislodge from the trailer and impale the windshield of the Nissan SUV directly behind it."
"The pole went through the center of the windshield and became lodged between the center back seat and the roof of the vehicle," DPS said.
Photos shared with the post showed a massive puncture in the front windshield and the rectangular metal pole smashed into the back seat, while another part became lodged in part of the vehicle's roof.
The driver of the truck did not stop and has not been found, according to DPS.