The moment an unstrained board goes flying straight into the windshield of a car crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was captured on a shocking piece of dashcam footage on a windy afternoon last week.
What's more surprising, is how its driver kept his composure and avoided colliding with any other car despite having a shattered windshield.
David Deng was driving across the bridge on Wednesday when the unbelievable happened. Throughout the whole terrifying ordeal, he and all three passengers in his car were not injured.
"There was shattered glass on our clothes and on the seats as well," Deng recalled.
The Brooklyn man was traveling with his parents and his older sister, headed to a funeral service in New Jersey. Around 12:12 p.m., he said he passed a white Chevy pickup truck on the Brooklyn-bound side.
Deng said he caught a glimpse of the driver, but both had to keep on going in their respective lanes.
"Even if I swerved into a different lane, the other cars behind me would have just [collided] all behind me," he said. "The smart decision is just continue driving and find a safe spot to pull over."
Because Deng and his family had to make it to the funeral service, he did not call 911 and report the incident to police. Instead, he dropped the family car off in Staten Island.
New York State law requires drivers to have a cover or a tarp to prevent loose material from falling or blowing away from trucks and trailers. If drivers are caught carrying an unsecured load, they face a minimum of a $250 fine.
"Anything that you have that’s rolling around the car: strap it down, make sure its tied, and make sure its protected," he warned.
NBC New York reached out to the MTA, which operates and maintains the bridge, but haven’t heard back.
As for Deng, while he waits for his car to be repaired, he’s urging drivers to invest in a dash cam and be on the lookout at all times.
