DORAL, Fla. – A routine morning commute turned into a terrifying ordeal last week when a large piece of metal debris, believed to be part of a truck, flew through a car’s windshield on the Florida Turnpike near Doral, narrowly missing the driver before smashing through the rear window and striking another vehicle.
The incident occurred last Wednesday as Don Pham, who was driving southbound on the Turnpike, was headed to work.
He said the day started like any other until the metal piece of debris pierced his car, causing shattered glass to spray across his face, mouth, and hair.
The part appeared to be a slack adjuster -- a truck brake part used to regulate the brakes.
Pham immediately pulled over near the 74th Street exit after realizing something had punched through both his front and rear windshields.
“All of a sudden, I heard a boom, and glass was all over my face, in my mouth, and in my hair,” Pham said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, did I get shot? Was it a bullet? Was it some kind of shotgun?’”
When Pham got out of his car, he saw the debris lodged in the second car’s front windshield. The metal truck part had flown through his vehicle and landed in the passenger side of the second car, which had also pulled over to the side of the road.
11 p.m. report.
“I was leaning my shoulder, my arm in the middle of the console,” Pham recalled. “I don’t know how it barely got through without hitting me. That’s when I was shocked. That’s when I was like, ‘Oh my God, I almost died.’”
Authorities said the driver of the second car also escaped injury, though the projectile left significant damage to both vehicles. Pham, still visibly shaken, realized the severity of the close call as he recounted the event.
“We were lucky no one was in the passenger seat because that might have been very devastating,” he said.
Both drivers called authorities, and officers responded to the scene. Despite the significant damage, neither driver was hurt.
It is still unclear where the metal part came from or how it ended up flying through the air on the turnpike.
Local 10 News obtained exclusive video footage of the aftermath, showing both damaged vehicles pulled over on the Turnpike.
“You know, now, in hindsight, what do you make of this?” asked Local 10′s Christian De La Rosa.
“It wasn’t my time. Maybe it’s for me to share, like, you know, how precious life is, and you gotta live life to every moment,” Pham said.
Authorities are still investigating where the part may have come from, though no leads have surfaced. Pham hopes his story will encourage others to be more mindful about securing items on their vehicles, especially on busy highways.
“It’s something people don’t always think about,” Pham said. “But one loose item can really make the difference between life and death.”
No one else was injured in the incident, but it served as a stark reminder of the unpredictable hazards on the road.
The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate how the metal part ended up on the roadway.