Large metal pole stuck in back seat of car after it crashed through Mandy Poff's windshield whiel she was driving on Thursday, July 22.
Screenshot shows a metal pole lodged into the backseat of Mandy Poff's car after it crashed into her windshield while driving on the highway on Thursday, July 22.
Arizona Department of Public Safety/ Facebook
  • A metal pole crashed into an Arizona woman's windshield while driving on the highway, nearly killing her.
  • Officials said a truck attached to a trailer hit a bump on the road, dislodging the pole, which crashed into the car behind it.
  • The pole was "flying…in the air like a missile," the driver, Mandy Poff, told Fox 10.
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A drive on the highway nearly turned deadly for an Arizona woman last week after a metal pole smashed through her windshield.

The incident happened on State Route 51 in Pheonix, Arizona on Thursday just before noon, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

A pickup truck attached to a trailer hit a bump on the road making "a roughly four-foot-long iron pole to dislodge from the trailer and impale the windshield of the Nissan SUV directly behind it," the department said.

Mandy Poff of Mesa, the owner of the SUV, told Fox 10 Pheonix that she's now "terrified to be in a car."

Poff said she was driving when the metal pole "bounced on the road and flipped up straight through the windshield" barely missing her face, according to the report. She said the pole was "flying…in the air like a missile."

Photos posted by the Arizona Department of Public Safety show major damage to the windshield and the pole lodged in the backseat of her car.

The department said the truck driver did not stop when the incident happened and had not been identified as of July 23. In the post, officials also warned drivers to make sure their load is secure before driving.

"Road debris poses a serious hazard to everyone on the road, from other motorists to the law enforcement and road maintenance crews that go out to retrieve it," the department said. "No matter how short the drive or how heavy the items, please take the time to secure your load before every trip!"

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