A B.C. woman says she was nearly killed when a metal beam that flew off a transport truck on Highway 1 smashed through her windshield, recalling that she barely had time to blink – and when she opened her eyes she was coated in shattered glass.
“Everything occurred so quick. I did not have a whole lot of time to contemplate what my choices have been,” North Vancouver resident Susan Milne mentioned.
She had been driving southbound on the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge when it occurred simply earlier than 2 p.m. on Friday.
Vancouver police imagine the beam flew off a truck heading in the wrong way, bounced off the bridge deck and hopped over the middle barricade – earlier than coming to relaxation lodged within the Milne’s windshield.
Images supplied by police and Milne present a portion of the beam went instantly between the drivers facet window and the headrest, simply centimetres from Milne’s head.
The L-shaped piece of metal seems to have been stopped by Milne’s steering wheel earlier than it might fully enter the automobile.
“I turned to round to look again at my son to ensure he was OK,” she mentioned. “He had been sleeping and he simply woke as much as the noise. And I reassured him that all the things’s OK.”
NO AMBULANCE CAME
Other drivers rushed in direction of Milne’s automobile and known as 911.
She says District of North Vancouver firefighters have been the primary emergency responders to reach, adopted shortly after by Vancouver police, however no ambulance ever got here.
In a press release, BC Emergency Health Services says it “dispatched the closest out there ambulance, nevertheless the primary unit was diverted to a extra pressing life-threatening name.”
A second ambulance acquired caught within the visitors backup precipitated by the mishap.
After ready on the bridge deck for 30 to 40 minutes, law enforcement officials drove Milne and her son house after which she made her personal technique to the hospital.
She was left with some cuts and bruises, and her son escaped unhurt.
“Had my life been hanging on a thread, needing pressing medical care, I do not know what would have occurred,” Milne mentioned, in regards to the ambulance delay.
POLICE ASK DRIVER TO COME FORWARD
Vancouver police say it isn’t clear if the opposite driver was instantly conscious of what had occurred and imagine they continued on in direction of North Vancouver.
“We’d like that person to voluntarily come forward and speak with our investigators, but we’ll also be reviewing traffic and dash cam video in an attempt to identify the person if they don’t come forward,” Sgt. Steve Addison mentioned in an e-mail. “We need to conduct additional investigation and understand all the circumstances before we draw any conclusions.”
It’s not clear what penalties, if any, the driving force of the car that misplaced the beam might face.
Milne is shaken however grateful she and her son weren’t severely injured – or worse.
“I was missed by inches on my left facet however there was the beam on the entrance and had this influence continued ahead…I do not even wish to give it some thought,” she mentioned. “I’m extremely blessed that I’m right here proper now.”