'It Came Out Of The Sky': Driver Hit By Cement Feels Lucky To Be Alive

ORLAND PARK, IL — A New Lenox woman is still stunned she made it out with only minor injuries after a terrifying ordeal as she was driving home from work in the early morning hours Sunday.

The woman—who asked to be identified as only Jennifer— was driving on Southwest Highway in Orland Park, when she remembers seeing an object airborne, coming toward her car.

"All I remember is out of the corner of my eye, I saw something gray coming at my windshield," she said. "I remember trying to look up to see what was going on, and seeing the trees above, then hearing the sound of the glass breaking."

Jennifer was on the phone with her mother and husband, who told her of the fear and shock they'd heard in her voice as a cement object came crashing into her windshield.

"It was utter shock," she told Patch. "I just kept saying, 'something came through my car.'"

Jennifer was on Southwest Highway, passing Highwood Drive and not yet at 179th Street at 12:30 a.m. Sunday, when the object smashed into her windshield. The incident is a bit of a blur, but she recalls no cars in front of her, and that she was not near an overpass, she said.

"That’s what made me realize it was thrown," she said. "... "It literally looked like it came out of the sky. I remember looking straight up, trying to figure out where it even came from."

The impact sent glass flying inside her vehicle, leaving her with minor injuries that she fears could have been so much worse.

"There was glass everywhere," she said. "I was covered in glass from head to toe."

She believes the object grazed her face and arm, leaving abrasions. She declined treatment at the scene, instead tending to her injuries at home.

Police on Monday said they are investigating after a piece of cement or brick had hit a car. Police described it as cement or a piece of a landscaping brick.

Jennifer said she's not sure what the object was, and doesn't recall specifics about its description, but that she found it and handed it over to police.

"All I remember is handing it over to Orland police saying, 'Oh my gosh, this is huge. I don’t know how I’m alive right now,'" she told Patch. "To me, I know it was big enough, if it had hit me any other way, it could have been a lot worse outcome."

After sharing her ordeal on social media, Jennifer said others spoke of similar incidents in the same area, in recent weekends. Residents said following previous incidents, police canvassed the area and spoke with homeowners nearby. Residents worry it is the same offenders or a prank gone wrong, not realizing the danger in what they're doing. Jennifer had not been aware of previous incidents prior to her own.

"There’s no way that this could have been anything other than thrown at the vehicle," she said. "My biggest fear is that it’s going to happen to someone else, and someone won’t be that lucky next time."

She's hoping the community will share anything they know about the incidents with Orland Park police.

"I know that it scared me to death," she said. "... I just want the awareness of the community. I’m hoping the community will come together, help police find who’s doing this.

"I don’t want this to be worse the next time around."