https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAwDvkemvL4
Back in November 2018, Texas woman Kathy Lanham had a trash can dashcam moment that could have ended a lot worse than it did. As the video footage shows, one second, Lanham was driving in the HOV lane of the LBJ Freeway, and the next, an unsecured trash can came flying off the back of a trailer-pulling truck -- sailing over three lanes of traffic -- and smashed into her windshield.
"All of a sudden, here it comes," Lanham said, according to WFAA. "I look to my right and I just see this thing become airborne."
"I couldn't go left because there was a wall, and I couldn't go right because of the pylons," she said. "I made the right decision and didn't cause another wreck."
Read More: Dashcam Video Shows Texas School Bus Driving Straight into Low Water Crossing
Thankfully, because the trash can only had mulch in it, Lanham wasn't injured nor was her Honda CRV damaged at all.
"I was able to take it down to the car wash and take care of things luckily," Lanham said. "It was just a bunch of leaves and smush."
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, there were 1,241 crashes caused by unsecured loads in 2017 alone, while 103 of those crashes involved injuries and five were fatal. Kathy Lanham was one of the lucky ones.
"You hear about all of the bad things that happen when people get hit with things in the road," Lanham said. "Some people don't survive or get injured."
"You have to tie down your loads," Lanham said. "It just takes a couple of seconds."
"You have to pay attention. You know this could very well happen to you, and I hope people can see that from the video."
This post was originally published on December 5, 2018.