10-inch metal spike shot by lawn mower shatters car window, nearly hits kids in Connecticut
FAIRFIELD, Connecticut (WABC) -- Two children amazingly suffered only minor injuries when a metal spike shot by a lawn mower shattered the back window of the car in which they were traveling in Connecticut over the weekend.
It happened Saturday on Lockwood Road in Fairfield, where the fire department says the 10-inch spike was picked up and propelled by the rotating blades of a landscaper's commercial lawn mower.
It traveled 20 feet before striking the passing SUV, breaking through the rear passenger-side window and passing within inches of the faces of the children.
The spike then ricocheted off the interior glass on the opposite side and came to rest on the floor between the two children, ages 2 and 3.
The kids were restrained in car seats at the time.
"A matter of inches one way or the other, it could have been a much different story," said Lieutenant Robert Smith, commander of Engine 3. "Everybody was remarkably calm. The children were calm."
Both children were evaluated and found to have only minor injuries due to the shattered glass.
"There was some minor injuries to one of the children, who had some abrasions to his ear," Smith said. "They were both covered in glass particles and glass dust from it."
The father did not want to talk on camera about what happened, but in the garage, you could see the damaged window on the family's Honda Pilot.
Stunned neighbors who saw and heard the emergency response are just happy the kids weren't hurt.
"It is absolutely terrifying," neighbor Vanessa Desantis said "It was just a horrible chain of events, and an accident that is just unprecedented. So it was scary."
Investigators said the landscaper -- also a father -- immediately stopped mowing and remained on the scene. He was said to be pretty shaken up about what happened, but like everyone else, was absolutely relieved the learn the freak accident wasn't a tragic accident.
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