A driver was badly hurt in a freak accident on the George Washington Bridge when an 18 inch-long piece of metal somehow flung into his windshield as he drove in the upper westbound lanes, piercing the glass and leaving him with severe head trauma, the Port Authority said Tuesday.
The driver, who was the only person in the vehicle at the time of Monday's accident, suffered severe head trauma. He remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition at Hackensack University Medical Center a day later.
A law enforcement source told NBC New York that investigators believe an object somehow jarred loose from the undercarriage of a truck and flung upward, into the windshield. But the Port Authority said the investigation into the source of the flying hunk of metal is ongoing. The agency said thus far, all it knows is that the debris did not fall off the bridge.
The victim's front window was seen with a gaping hole in the center. The westbound lanes were shut down for a period of time as authorities investigated. A partial closure remained in effect through much of Monday afternoon.
