‘I’m very fortunate:’ Houston woman avoids injury when piece of metal shatters windshield

A Texas woman escaped serious injury Friday when a large piece of metal smashed through her windshield while driving on a Houston interstate, authorities said.

"Never did I think something as nonchalant as running errands would be as impactful and as scary, Erica Bell told KTRK.

Bell was driving on Houston’s east loop highway when the incident occurred. Metal bounced off her sunroof and shattered the back windshield, the television station reported. Bell said she saw the driver in front of her swerve, and then she saw something hurtling toward her car.

."When it hit the car, it hit the top and I could hear the metal. Then, a crash and some glass," Bell told KTRK.

The scary incident took just four seconds.

“It was long enough for my entire life to stop,” Bell told the television station. "(The object) hit between the driver side and the passenger side.

“It literally hit the middle of my car.”

Bell believes her car was totaled, KTRK reported. A man stopped to lend assistance, and the vehicle was taken to a shop to assess the damages.

Bell said her car was almost paid off but believes she was lucky.

"I'm very fortunate," Bell told KTRK. "It could have ended a lot different and it happened so fast."

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