Pennsylvania mother could lose vision in one eye after ice smashes into windshield

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPVI) -- An Allegheny County woman says she is lucky to be alive.

Madeline Grace could lose her eyesight and must undergo surgery for other injuries after a massive chunk of ice from a tractor-trailer smashed through her windshield on a Pittsburgh highway.

"It was just a really loud crunch, the glass hitting my face," Grace told WTAE.

She was driving on Interstate 376 last weekend when a sheet of ice from the top of a tractor-trailer flew off the truck and slammed through her windshield.

Her face is fractured and she needs surgery to repair broken bones. She's also holding onto hope that she won't lose sight in one eye.

Her 7-year-old daughter was in the backseat. Luckily, the little girl is OK.

"She keeps saying, 'It was the worst day ever, Mommy, and I just hope you are going to be OK,'" recalled Grace.

Grace is a crisis counselor supervisor who has saved other people's lives. She says her training, calm approach and quick thinking kicked in when she needed it most.

It is against the law in Pennsylvania to fail to clear off the top of your vehicle.