Road debris slams into driver's head

By Seattle Times staff

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The woman was traveling eastbound on Highway 202 at the intersection of 361st Street Southeast near Fall City about 3 p.m., the State Patrol reported.

An unidentified vehicle traveling in the opposite direction kicked up an approximately 12-inch piece of metal debris, which went through the windshield of the North Bend woman's Hyundai and struck her in the head, the State Patrol said.

Her car continued on for several hundred yards before it went into a ditch, State Patrol spokeswoman Kelly Spangler said.

No arrests were reported.

Spangler said last night the woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center in "very critical" condition.

In a similar incident in February on the Eastside, motorist Maria Federici was traveling on Interstate 405 near Renton when a large board fell from a rental trailer in front of her.

The board went through the 24-year-old woman's windshield and struck her face, blinding her permanently.

After the board hit her car, the car hit the median and glided to a stop on the shoulder.

Federici suffered numerous broken bones in her face.

The Newcastle man hauling the trailer was cited but not charged with a crime.
 
Seattle Times staff reporter Doug Merlino contributed to this story.