Wood falls from Queens elevated subway platform, pierces windshield

QUEENS, New York -- A man in Queens is lucky to be alive after a piece of wood fell from an elevated subway platform and pierced his windshield Thursday afternoon.

It happened just before 1 p.m. on Roosevelt Avenue and 65th Street in Woodside, underneath the 7 train line.

Pictures and video posted on social media showed a horrific scene where death was certainly a possibility.

Luckily, the driver was not hurt and refused medical attention.

The wood reportedly went through the passenger side, but the driver was the only one in the car.

A witness said he spoke to the man, who he described as "completely speechless."

"He was shaking, he was scared," Bobby Ramiro said. "He was nervous...I said, 'Are you OK, sir? Are you OK?' He said 'OK,' but we saw there was no blood or nothing. I was scared too, because I only ever see those kinds of things in movies."

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer called on the MTA to "answer for our crumbling subway infrastructure before a tragedy occurs."

The MTA issued the following statement:

"We take this incident extremely seriously, are conducting a full investigation into what happened, have personnel ensuring the rest of the area is safe, and are relieved that no one was injured."

MTA crews were at the scene, removing wooden beams that were being stored under the tracks. It is unclear if that is where the wood fell from, but it would explain why subway service was not impacted.