Volleyball-sized rock smashed through driver’s windshield on Highway 1

The BC Highway Patrol says an object that smashed through a driver’s window on Highway 1 on Thursday leaving them in critical condition is believed to be a large rock the size of a volleyball.

Police said it appears the rock came off another vehicle and was not dropped from an overpass.

On June 6 at approximately 11:24 a.m., BC Highway Patrol officers were called to Highway 1 near the Willingdon exit and found a white sedan with a smashed windshield.

The driver was rushed to hospital.

It is still unclear where the rock came from.

“This is a very rare incident,” Cpl. Melissa Jongema with BC Highway Patrol told Global News.

“Usually when we have people injured in collisions on the highway, it is a result of impairment or a rockslide or another vehicle not maintaining their lane. Wildlife even. But to have an object come through a windshield is not common.”

Another driver has now come forward saying an object struck her car while she was driving on Highway 1 in almost the same location.

2:26 Traffic chaos in Metro Vancouver after driver critically injured by debris through windshield

Sadie Woudstra was on the highway in May, close to the Willingdon exit and the Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby when she heard and felt a big crash on top of her car.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“It was really loud,” she said. “The whole car kind of shook.”

“So I open my sunroof to see what it is and there is no sunroof. It’s just this big hole in the middle of the sunroof. And all the glass went to the back of the car, so nothing fell on me. But I guess some sort of rock fell on the top and just totalled the sunroof.”

Woudstra said it was scary and she felt lucky she was not badly hurt.

“It sucks that it happened, but I’m really lucky that it wasn’t anything bigger because it’s scary that, you know, a truck can be passing by that kicks up a rock or something, and then, you know, you’ve lost your life or you’re seriously injured,” she added.

Woudstra said she never found anything so it is unclear what hit her car.

BC Highway Patrol is still investigating the June 6 incident and looking for witnesses and anyone with dash-camera footage to contact them at 604-526-9744.