Local News

Wood and debris hit Haverhill man on I-95 South

Posted: 08/12/11 at 6:15 pm    Updated: 08/12/11 at 6:26 pm

PEABODY, Mass. -- “And there was a loud bang and I realize ‘Oh my god, I got hit.’ Then I saw the 2-by-4 stuck in my window.”

Tom O'Brien, of Haverhill, was on his way to work in Wakefield, when a giant piece of wood came crashing through his windshield.

“’Oh my God,’ I thought,” O’Brien said. “Something is coming in my direction, so I just held on ‘cause I knew I was going to get hit with something.”

There was a pile of wood and debris in the middle lane of I-95 South in Peabody, O’Brien said. The car traveling in front of him couldn't get by, and drove right into it -- sending the wood flying.

“It was just this deafening sound, it struck,” he said. “Sounds like the whole car hit something. It was just impact on the car itself.”

O'Brien said he's feeling pretty lucky. It’s a miracle he and the other drivers weren't hurt in the accident.

“I said, ‘Tom you escaped today. You won the lottery,’” he said. “People always tell to go play the lottery. Well, I won the lottery today."

(Copyright (c) 2011 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Latest Local Videos