'I didn't expect to have a rock through my windshield on I-5'

This would just be terrifying and there's almost nothing you can do to stop it!


'I didn't expect to have a rock through my windshield on I-5'

SEATTLE, Wash – July 21st 2012

SEATTLE - A family of four that survived a chunk of freeway flying through their windshield on Interstate 5 is speaking out after the terrifying experience.

The frightening accident happened Saturday night in the southbound lanes of I-5, around Northeast 80th Street in Seattle.

A mom and dad and their kids were driving down the freeway just like thousands of cars do every day when a piece of road the size of a brick came flying right through their windshield.

Now they're surprised they're still here to talk about it.

"The rock hit me so hard in the chest, it literally took my breath away" says Henry Jessop, who was in the passenger seat.

His son Ian and his daughter were in the back seat, and his wife was behind the wheel.

Jessop was hit in the chest and jaw. The special forces officer thought it was a gunshot - dust and glass filled the inside of their Volvo after the chunk of concrete shattered the windshield.

"Every time we took a breath you could feel glass going down your throat," he says.

Jessop is in a lot of pain - he has stitches on his chin and inside his mouth, along with a severely bruised jaw and chest.

And he worries about the emotional trauma to his family.

"Me getting into an accident is one thing - but to have your family there also, and to witness suffering from your loved ones, is something that hurts me more than anything," he says.

The state trooper who responded told him a car must have kicked up a loose chunk of highway, and sent it flying into the Jessop's Volvo.

Henry's sister-in-law is still upset.

"To lose my sister, if that had happened, would have been earth-shattering," she says. "This is an innocent family driving down the highway. How could that happen to them?"

Jessop hopes what happened creates awareness about how important it is for transportation crews to keep highways maintained.

"I expect to be wounded in combat. I didn't expect to have a rock come through my windshield on I-5 in Seattle of all places."