Youngsville woman warns other drivers after ice from other driver's roof smashes her windshield

A Youngsville mother is warning drivers after her windshield was smashed by ice from another car.

Kate Wall said she was driving her children home from her daughter's gymnastics practice on Tuesday afternoon when ice came off the roof of an oncoming car.

"I saw it fly up in the air and I had time to just kind of like hit the brakes a little bit and close my eyes. I remember thinking this thing could come through the windshield and thankfully that didn't happen. My kids were very scared in the back seat," Wall said.

Wall pulled over to the side of the road to assess the damage and check on her kids. The ice put a large crack in the windshield and damaged the front grille.

"The other driver had no idea I guess or didn't care," Wall said. "Those sheets of ice are very dangerous and it could have easily come straight through the window and killed us so I'm fortunate to be here."

Wall said her insurance will have to cover the cost of the damage. She will have to meet her deductible for the repairs, which will include replacing the windshield and taking the car to a body shop.

She asks people to take the time to clean snow and ice off their cars before driving. Her husband posted about the incident on social media in the hopes of spreading awareness.

"Especially with the kind of storm we just had this weekend, these sheets of ice are up to an inch thick and they can be completely fatal," Wall said.

Laws requiring drivers to remove snow and ice off of cars before hitting the roads exist in some states like Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, but not North Carolina. 

Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone told WRAL drivers need to remove snow not just for themselves, but for the safety of others. 

"Make sure it is very de-iced before you get on the road. When I'm talking about de-iced I'm talking about the ice on the hood, on the roof of the car, on the truck of the car. Because as you start going down the road that stuff can blow off," Stone said.

WRAL reporter Willie Daniely contributed to this story