An Ontario Provincial Police spokesperson says two people are “lucky to be alive” after a sheet of plywood flew off a vehicle and smashed into the windshield of a car travelling on a highway in Brampton.
Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told Global News the incident happened on Highway 410 near Queen Street East at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
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“Wood came from another vehicle that was unsecured … Please ensure your loads are strapped and properly secured,” Schmidt initially said in a post on Twitter.
The damage car’s driver Jaspreet Sran was driving with a family friend and her mother-in-law at the time. She told Global News on Thursday that it all happened so fast.
Luckily, all three suffered only minor injuries and cuts to their faces.
“We were going to to drop my mother-in-law in Kitchener and I just crossed William … when I saw something was flying from the truck.”
Sran said she was “shocked” when she saw the object flying.
It was Sran’s first accident in 10 to 12 years of driving.
“I believe God is there at the moment so we are alive.”
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Schmidt said witnesses contacted police about the vehicle the wood came loose from.
He told Global News on Thursday that officers determined the plywood came off a small utility trailer that was being pulled by a small SUV.
Investigators found the owner of the vehicle not long after the incident.
On Saturday, Schmidt said a 51-year-old man has been charged with having an insecure load, contrary to the Highway Traffic Act.
“This could have been a lot worse if it [the plywood] had landed just a small degree off,” he said.
Sran said she had no idea if the driver of the truck knew what had happened.
But if he or she does know, Sran said she wants them to be more careful in the future.
—With files from Mark Carcasole
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