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‘A foot away’: Port Coquitlam driver says rock ‘narrowly’ missed him

Click to play video: 'Close call for Port Coquitlam driver'
Close call for Port Coquitlam driver
A driver in Port Coquitlam is speaking out after his car window was shattered by what he believes was a rock that came flying off a dump truck heading from a construction site. Troy Charles reports.

A Port Coquitlam man has come forward, sharing his story about a rock smashing his window while he was driving.

Rob Shanks said he was driving on Coast Meridian Road when a dump truck passed him going the other way.

He believes a large rock fell off the dump truck and ended up smashing through a back side window — narrowly missing him in the process.

“There was a bang and next thing I knew the back window was smashed,” he told Global News.

“After a while, I realized (the rock hit) a foot away from where I was sitting.”

Shanks is grateful his son was not in the car, as he often is.

Click to play video: 'Woman struck by ‘volleyball-sized rock’ on Highway 1 dies'
Woman struck by ‘volleyball-sized rock’ on Highway 1 dies

“It seems like these incidents are happening more often,” Shanks said.

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Earlier this month, a driver was tragically killed when a volleyball-sized rock smashed through her vehicle’s front window on Highway 1 in Burnaby.

Investigators are still trying to determine where the rock came from.

Also last month, Sadie Woudstra was driving home on Highway 1 between East Vancouver and Burnaby when something shattered her sunroof.

In a statement, the city of Port Coquitlam said, “bylaw officers are monitoring truck activity to ensure drivers are using permitted routes only and have issued fines for those violating weight restrictions.”

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation also said it is always concerned to hear about incidents such as Shanks, and it’s working with police to enforce rules around insecure loads.

Click to play video: 'Woman dies after car windshield hit by large rock on Highway 1'
Woman dies after car windshield hit by large rock on Highway 1

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