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A routine morning drive turned into a terrifying close call Friday along Interstate 69 when a heavy metal bracket flew off a passing 18-wheeler and impaled a family’s vehicle windshield.
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Metal bracket flies off 18-wheeler into family car with toddler inside
A piece of metal flew off an 18-wheeler and smashed straight through a family’s windshield on I-69, narrowly missing a toddler in the back seat. Montgomery County authorities are still searching for the truck.
Around 9:03 a.m. Friday, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a highway crash along I-69 near Roman Forest Drive. Firefighters with the East Montgomery County Fire Department arrived to discover a Dodge Journey with a large piece of road debris lodged deep inside the cabin.
The driver, Don Scott of Cleveland, Texas, had just dropped his 1-year-old son off at a babysitter’s house about 15 minutes before the incident. Scott was traveling north toward home with plans to grab breakfast at a McDonald’s along State Highway 242. His 2-year-old son was secured in a child safety seat directly behind the driver’s seat.
As Scott passed Roman Forest Drive, a heavy-duty strap cinch bracket detached from an unidentified 18-wheeler trailer. The metal bracket hurtled through the air, penetrating the passenger side of Scott’s windshield with violent force.
The impact snapped the front passenger seat headrest, struck the rear passenger-side child car seat—the exact spot where Scott’s 1-year-old had been sitting minutes earlier—and smashed through the rear-side window, denting the vehicle's structural pillar.
Remarkably, neither Scott nor his toddler suffered any injuries.
"God, thank you we made it," Scott said, recalling the shock of watching the ratchet assembly crash through the glass.
Because there were no injuries and the SUV remained driveable, Scott brought the vehicle to the Woodbranch Police Department parking lot, where officers documented the incident. Saddle Creek Towing later towed the damaged SUV back to Cleveland.
Investigators have not yet identified the commercial truck from which the bracket dislodged. Anyone with information or dashboard camera footage of the area during the Friday morning commute is encouraged to contact local law enforcement.
The Source: Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.