Pipe flies through windshield of car on I-5

EDMONDS, Wash. -- John Wood was driving down Interstate 5 when something came flying through the windshield of his minivan.

"I leaned forward and was like, 'Whoa!'" he said. "I thought maybe a gunshot, somebody shot at me."

It wasn't a bullet; it was bigger. A 14-inch steel pipe had shot through the window, slamming into the dashboard and sending tiny shards of glass flying.

"Just shattered!" said Wood. "And it was all over me."

Despite his rattled nerves, Wood managed to pull over. A long-time racer of midget cars, Wood has some experience with handling unexpected situations on the road.

But someone else may have not been as practiced. Debris on the freeway is illegal and potentially deadly.

State lawmakers addressed the issue after flying debris nearly killed Maria Federici in 2004.

The accident, which left Federici blind, prompted a new law against failure to secure a load that causes injury. The offense is a gross misdemeanor and punishable by jail time.

"I think here, because of the Federici issue which is close to our heart, State Patrol takes this very seriously," said Sgt. Kim Triplett of the Washington State Patrol. "We pretty much don't give warnings for that."

Wood isn't optimistic that the careless driver will ever be caught.

"Nobody will ever know where it came from, probably. I don't see how they will figure it out," he said.

Tickets for unsecured load range from $260 to $1,000. Anyone who spots an unsecured load on the road is urged to call 911.