A Florida mother and her school-aged daughter escaped serious injury Saturday night after a tire slammed through the windshield of their car in what authorities are calling a "freak accident."
The accident happened around 6:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 19 in Clearwater when a tire came off a southbound vehicle and bounced over the median just north of Drew Street, the Clearwater Police Department said.
The loose tire crashed through the windshield of a northbound vehicle. A woman and her young daughter were inside the car at the time of the incident, according to police.
The mother was driving while the child was in the back seat. Police said "thankfully" no one was in the front passenger seat, which sustained most of the damage when the tire struck the vehicle.
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Police shared a series of photos showing the shattered windshield on the passenger side of the vehicle, the roof above the passenger seat crushed with a dent and part of the front passenger seat ripped apart.
Police said no one was seriously injured or killed during the incident. No further details about how the tire came loose from its vehicle were immediately provided.
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The mother and daughter were checked for injuries at the scene and did not have to be transported to a hospital, Clearwater Fire and Rescue told FOX35 Orlando.
After leaving the scene of the accident, the pair went to Mease Countryside Hospital for possible minor injuries, the station reported, citing officials.
