'Incredibly blessed that I'm here': B.C. woman says she was nearly killed when metal beam smashed through windshield

A B.C. woman says she was nearly killed when a metal beam that flew off a transport truck on Highway 1 smashed through her windshield, recalling that she barely had time to blink – and when she opened her eyes she was covered in shattered glass.

"Everything happened so fast. I didn't have a lot of time to consider what my options were,” North Vancouver resident Susan Milne said.

She had been driving southbound on the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge when it happened just before 2 p.m. on Friday.

Vancouver police believe the beam flew off a truck heading in the opposite direction, bounced off the bridge deck and hopped over the centre barricade – before coming to rest lodged in the Milne’s windshield.

Images provided by police and Milne show a portion of the beam went directly between the drivers side window and the headrest, just centimetres from Milne’s head.

The L-shaped piece of metal appears to have been stopped by Milne’s steering wheel before it could entirely enter the car.

"I turned around to look back at my son to make sure he was OK,” she said. “He had been sleeping and he just woke up to the noise. And I reassured him that everything's OK."

NO AMBULANCE CAME

Other drivers rushed towards Milne’s car and called 911.

She says District of North Vancouver firefighters were the first emergency responders to arrive, followed shortly after by Vancouver police, but no ambulance ever came.

In a statement, BC Emergency Health Services says it “dispatched the closest available ambulance, however the first unit was diverted to a more urgent life-threatening call."

A second ambulance got caught in the traffic backup caused by the mishap.

After waiting on the bridge deck for 30 to 40 minutes, police officers drove Milne and her son home and then she made her own way to the hospital.

She was left with some cuts and bruises, and her son escaped unharmed.

"Had my life been hanging on a thread, needing urgent medical care, I don't know what would have happened,” Milne said, about the ambulance delay.

POLICE ASK DRIVER TO COME FORWARD

Vancouver police say it is not clear if the other driver was immediately aware of what had happened and believe they continued on towards North Vancouver.

“We’d like that person to voluntarily come forward and speak with our investigators, but we’ll also be reviewing traffic and dash cam video in an attempt to identify the person if they don’t come forward,” Sgt. Steve Addison said in an email. “We need to conduct additional investigation and understand all the circumstances before we draw any conclusions.”

It’s not clear what consequences, if any, the driver of the vehicle that lost the beam could face.

Milne is shaken but grateful she and her son were not seriously injured – or worse.

"I was missed by inches on my left side but there was the beam at the front and had this impact continued forward...I don't even want to think about it,” she said. "I'm incredibly blessed that I'm here right now."