Girl uninjured after debris falls from bridge, shattering car window

CHELMSFORD, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- It was a scary afternoon for one family that was driving under an overpass in Chelmsford when debris fell from the bridge above, cracking the windshield and leaving everyone inside rattled.

"I saw a piece of something fall off the bridge that was probably about two feet long it looked like a big rectangle," said 11-year-old Rylee Camara, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

That rectangle was a piece of steel from a bridge according to state inspectors. The steel debris shattered the windshield.

"I heard this really loud bang and I screamed because it sounded like a gunshot or something," she said.

Rylee was sitting in the passenger seat, and the debris hit just inches from her head.

"I saw all the glass and I looked down and had all this glass on my legs and stuff," she said.

It happened on I-495 north just before exit 37.

The Camara family was on their way to Maine for vacation. Rylee's grandmother was driving, while her mother Lisa was driving separately behind them.

"I'm just so thankful it wasn't worse it could've caused a major accident. It could've been really bad," Lisa said.

Inspectors say the bridge has additional areas of flake that need to be removed. Road crews shut down two lanes on 495 north while they fix the problem.

The camera family wants to see more inspections on state bridges.

"It's my daughter - I could've lost her - so its definitely a serious issue."

Cox Media Group