Man shares aftermath of metal bar crashing into car windshield in TikTok video

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It’s the stuff of nightmares. What do you do when a four-foot metal bar is coming straight at you, while you’re driving 65 mph? Fernando Sosa Garcia found out the hard way and miraculously lived to tell the tale.

In a video that has been viewed more than 7.4 million times on TikTok, Garcia captures the moments after a large metal beam shattered his car’s windshield near the Big-I.

“I was on my way home from an interview,” he said. “I was heading southbound on I-25. When I was driving I saw a piece—a metal object on the road. The car in front of me was a good 40 to 45 feet away. I saw the lady trying to swerve and avoid the metal object, but it was already on a roll from where it fell from. She hit it on the side of her fender, and that caused it to start skipping and catch some air.”

Garcia said that is when he realized it was headed directly for his car, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He didn’t even have time to swerve.

“I kind of just braced myself for the impact,” he said.

When Garcia opened his eyes, the beam had lodged itself in the driver’s side air vent, just inches from his body.

“I honestly felt death at the moment, not going to lie,” he said. “Once I saw that thing, I felt relieved that it didn’t touch me. I felt relieved that it didn’t go all the way through or hit me.”

Garcia walked away from the incident untouched, apart from a few scratches from his broken windshield. That was the first thing he had repaired. The bar also scratched his car’s hood, causing a total of $6,000 in damage. Garcia said it could have been so much worse.

“I was on my way home, and I almost didn’t make it home,” he said.

Garcia decided to keep the bar, and he still has no idea where it came from. He told KOB he hopes the video he posted online serves as a wake-up call.

“I had to let people know to let other truck drivers and stuff like that to make sure their loads are good and tied on because, you don’t know, I could have lost my life, and this could have went on a whole different other route,” he said.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation said drivers not properly securing their loads is a growing problem in the metro area.

“We’re called to remove anything from tires, I’ve seen kitchen sinks, I’ve seen barrels and bins of things from people moving,” said District 3 Public Information Officer Kimberly Gallegos. “We’re asking the public to please be aware of this—to really watch their loads as they travel through our state and through our roadways. As you can see—in this particular situation, it could have been fatal. It’s very scary.”

Gallegos also said to use your judgment when you see something blocking the road because sometimes swerving to avoid it can be just as dangerous as hitting it head-on.

NMDOT said to call (505)934-0354 to report objects on I-25 and I-40, as well as major roads like Tramway, Paseo and U.S. 550. Objects on smaller side streets should be reported to the City of Albuquerque by calling 311.