WATCH ABOVE: Edmonton police say vehicles with unsecured loads is a huge problem and one that can be deadly. Eric Szeto spoke to a driver who had a very close call this week.
EDMONTON — Karen Baird was driving on a highway west of Edmonton Wednesday when a piece of wood fell off a pick-up truck in front of her and smashed into her windshield.
“It just careened out like a kite and struck my windshield.”
She was heading west on the Yellowhead between Spruce Grove and Stony Plain. It was around 4:45 p.m. and vehicles were travelling about 110 km/h.
“It just winged me… There was nowhere to go. It was full rush-hour traffic,” said Baird. “It was just crazy. I am so lucky. I couldn’t believe it.
“I could’ve lost my head. I totally could have been decapitated.”
Baird says she was able to slow down and drive safely into the median.
“I sat there for a second just kind of assessing… ‘Am I alive?’ I was just, like, ‘OK, am I OK? Am I hurt? Am I bleeding?’ ”
She did bump her head and her lip was cut, but Baird knows it could have been much worse.
“Safety glass is amazing because there is wood all over the inside of my car, there’s glass all over the place… there’s pieces of debris, the top of my car is dented.”
“I really feel fortunate,” says Baird. “It was absolutely miraculous. I can’t believe it. It’s just really lucky.”
Baird says several other motorists pulled over to make sure she was OK, including an EMT in training and an RCMP officer. The driver of the truck didn’t stop, she says.
“I don’t even think the truck driver realized what happened… Hopefully, they catch this person… People should really secure their loads.”
Fines for motorists who don’t properly secure their loads increased at the beginning of May, to $776.
RCMP Const. Todd Hudec says police see infractions many times a day, especially on commercial vehicles.
“It’s quite prevalent. We drive around the city every day and you can’t go much more than half-an-hour without seeing another example of an insecure load.”
Hudec believes the main cause is laziness.
READ MORE: Alberta inspectors fail half of commercial vehicles targeted in safety blitz
“The Alberta Transportation Act reads that anything that you’re carrying, the vehicle should be designed to be carrying those goods,” explains Randy Loyk with the Alberta Motor Association.
“It should be securely fastened with the proper tie straps, rope or anything to secure the load so that if you are in a collision or you hit a wind gust, you do not lose that load.”
Loyk says situations like this one can be incredibly dangerous.
“There have been situations where it’s killed people.”
Baird just hopes the driver in her case is found and held responsible.
When her time comes, she doesn’t want it to be like that.
“I would way rather die from jumping out of a perfectly good airplane than getting hit by a piece of debris driving on the Yellowhead, thank you very much.”
Baird was on her way to a skydiving lesson when her car was hit.
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