Tom Driscoll said he was driving north on Lower Lake Shore Drive when a 30-pound piece of concrete fell from above and crashed onto the roof and windshield of his 2002 Hyundai Accent about 4:40 p.m. between Illinois and Randolph streets.
"Suddenly there was a large explosion, and it wasn't like being hit by a car or something like that … it was like being hit by RPG [rocket-propelled grenade]," the Vietnam veteran said. "It was a large impact that shook the whole car."
The piece of concrete - about 20 inches long, 18 inches wide and 2 inches thick - shattered the upper corner of the driver's side windshield and sent shards of glass into Driscoll's eyes, he said.
Driscoll said there were no other cars around and after drifting to the left, he was able to regain control of the car and pull over on the right side of the road, where pedestrians asked if he was OK.
"If I had been one millisecond slower the falling piece of cement would have fallen through the windshield and I wouldn't be alive," Driscoll said.
Driscoll said he called police numerous times and it took one hour and five minutes for officers to arrive. By that time, the large chunk of debris had been run over by passing vehicles and had broken into smaller pieces.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2012.)
