Houston woman 'blessed' to be alive after flying metal pole slams through her windshield on the North Freeway

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A driver who came within inches of certain death on the North Freeway lived to tell her story.

Ashley Laudermilk is sharing the moment that time stopped as she saw a metal pipe coming straight for her car on Wednesday afternoon.

"It flew. It went from the ground up, and then, 'boom,' and that was that," Laudermilk says.

For a few seconds, Ashley says it was like her life was in slow motion.

Then, the metal pipe she saw flying through the air smashed through her windshield and lodged itself in her car.

"I saw that thing," she said. "I saw it."

The pipe went airborne before it came crashing through a woman's windshield on the North Freeway.

Ashley was driving southbound in the middle lane of the North Freeway, with traffic all around her. The car in front of her hit the pipe and sent it flying.

As the owner of a trucking company who emphasizes safety, she knew others' lives could be at stake if she tried to swerve.

She says she wasn't even sure the driver in front of her was going to stop. Now, after the traumatic experience, she says she feels blessed.

"Thank God, thank God, thank God," Laudermilk said. "It didn't touch me here."

She can't help but think the future is bright.

"A miracle. That's one thing to see it, survive it," Laudermilk said. "I have some greater days ahead and a lot of work to do."

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