Man says ice fell on his windshield while driving on the freeway
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WOOD VILLAGE, Oregon (KPTV) — A Wood Village man is warning drivers to beware of falling ice, after a large chunk fell off a sign on the freeway and landed on his windshield.
The terrifying moment happened Monday evening on I-84 at Fairview. Ryeann Hawkins says he was driving home after helping a friend and was near Exit 14, when the ice fell on his car.
“I thought somebody had thrown off a rock off an overpass or something like that,” Hawkins said.
He said after it hit, he was going to slam on his breaks, but realized that could cause a crash and so he kept going.
The ice hit the windshield in the middle, leaving enough of a view for Hawkins to still drive. He also said it pierced the windshield, but he was wearing sunglasses, so no glass got in his eyes. It’s a lot of little miracles that really added up.
“My kids weren’t in the car. That’s the best part,” he said.
He says looking at the damage, he knows it could have been a lot worse.
“I mean, in a sense, it was pure bad luck. 15 seconds earlier or 15 seconds later, whatever, but I was really lucky it was only my truck and not a whole crash and that type of thing,” Hawkins said.
He says now he wants everyone to keep their eyes open and know that not every hazard is on the roadway.
“The road was clear, it was just water, you know, I thought nothing about ice falling. I was just maintaining down the road about 45 miles and that happened. The road is not the only concern,” said Hawkins.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said it had not responded to any calls for falling debris. Hawkins said he just wants people to know that falling ice is a possibility.
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