Indiana man survives truck tire slamming into windshield

PORTAGE, Ind. (WLS) -- An Indiana man escaped with his life when a tire from a semi-trailer slammed into his windshield on the Borman Expressway. He survived the terrifying ordeal with only a scratch on his thumb.

"I saw something obscure, tail lights. I thought, what is that? The very next thing I see is a tire - a full-size tire, spinning vertically, not wobbling or anything like that - bounce right in front of my car," Andrew Bruce said.

His car's windshield was destroyed. After the impact, Bruce pulled over, but his wife Dawn - who was following a few cars behind him - was still wondering if his car was hit.

"I was just in shock that he was outside the vehicle walking and talking," she said.

Bruce's split second decision to swerve might have saved his life.

"I lost my father four years ago, my sister eight years ago, so, the thought of losing my husband?" Dawn said.

And if Dawn had been in the passenger's seat next to him, there's a good chance things would have been different.

"The roof of the car is occupying the passenger compartment," Bruce said.

Indiana police told Bruce to buy a lottery ticket. The funny thing is, with an education in numbers, he's playing better odds.

"I'm a mathematics major. I kinda know the odds, so I might as well just put the $2 in my savings account, I'd be better off that way," Bruce said.

Following the harrowing experience, Bruce has an important message for all drivers: "If the only thing that comes out of this is someone says, 'I'm going to check my lug nuts,' good enough. Then we don't have to worry about some mother, someone dying on the road because you wanted to save 10 minutes."