BALTIMORE (WMAR) — "I couldn’t believe what had just happened," said Amanda Rispoli.
It was Saturday morning. Rispoli was driving into work on 695 in the Towson area.
"I just happened to look up and see this big sheet of white ice fly off the back of their car," said Rispoli.
The sheet of ice was flying off the SUV that was 4-5 car lengths in front of her. Surrounded by vehicles, there was nothing she could do.
"I just had to brace myself and take the hit wherever it was gonna hit to try to avoid causing any other type of accident," said Rispoli.
She wasn’t hurt but her windshield was completely shattered and she was very shaken up. She posted on Facebook with a simple message:
"Clean your damn car off," said Rispoli.
What happened to her was not illegal. State law only says you cant drive if something is obstructing the driver’s view. But it could have been prevented.
"Whenever we have these winter storms, especially one like last week where there’s a lot more ice than snow, we warn people to take the extra time. Get the ice off your roofs and off your hood. A lot of times, the damage comes a couple days after the storm when things are starting to melt off," said Ron Snyder, spokesman for the Maryland State Police.
Snyder most of the time people aren’t seriously hurt, but they could be.
"Imagine a brick flying off a car and hitting another car. Especially on highways that are going 50, 60, 70 miles an hour. Physics will tell you that’s a very dangerous scenario," said Snyder. "We also see cases where a piece of ice launches off of someones vehicle, someone swerves out of the way to avoid it and could then lead to a crash or a spin out on the road."
Rispoli is grateful it wasn’t worse and with more snow expected Monday, she hopes her story can help save someone else.
"Be courteous. Think about other people. Take those few extra minutes because it could be someones life," said Rispoli.
In 2016, there was a push in the Maryland Senate to impose fines on anyone with snow on their roofs, but the bill did not pass.
