Close call: Steel beam comes crashing into moving car, narrowly missing man

ABCNews logo
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Steel beam misses driver by inches after crashing through windshield while on highway
A man is sharing his story of survival after a steel beam came crashing through his windshield as he was driving down the highway

LYNNWOOD, Washington -- A close call on a Washington state highway has led to an urgent police investigation.

Gregory Sanon said he was driving to work, north of Seattle, when a steel beam came through his windshield.

"Seriously, I thought I was dead. Everybody says I need to go buy a lottery ticket because I was lucky," he said.

According to police, a man was seen throwing debris off an overpass.

The beam, which was more than 4 feet long, hit Sanon's passenger seat and steering wheel.

"It hit the car so hard, but I think it didn't hit me. It hit the steering wheel, even the steering wheel bent from the impact," he said.

In Michigan, a similar case turned deadly.

Five teenagers were charged with second-degree murder after police said they threw rocks off a highway overpass in 2017. One rock crashed through a man's car and killed him.

That same year, four teens in Ohio were charged with murder after throwing a sandbag from a highway overpass, killing a passerby in a car.

Authorities are still investigating the case near Seattle and are asking any witnesses to come forward.