The horror of the M42 couple as the metal rocket shatters the windshield and breaks the driver’s arm

A terrifying incident on the M42 left a caravan driver screaming in pain after a large piece of metal crashed through his windscreen and impaled him. The object, believed to be a lock from a lorry, narrowly missed Chris Benn’s face as he instinctively moved, but shattered his arm in six places.

His wife Rachel said they were returning home and driving through Warwickshire when the metal rod went into the van.

Chris, 54, now faces a long recovery, with the possibility of never regaining full use of his arm and being unable to work for up to a year. He underwent surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for internal bleeding and required blood transfusions.

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More than a week after the accident, which happened between junctions nine and ten on the northbound side at around 2.30pm on Friday June 21, Chris was still in hospital.

Rachel described the moment of impact near Water Orton, saying she heard an “almighty thud” and then saw her husband’s arm “hanging”. She explained how a last-second reaction saved her life: “He saw her at the last minute and moved towards me to his left, who then lifted her shoulder and hit her instead of the head. It crossed his mind. rest. If it hit him in the face, it would be over.

Doctors predicted that Chris, a refrigeration and air conditioning engineer, would be out of work for a year due to the severity of his injuries. Their motorhome was left completely destroyed, reports Birmingham Live.

Warwickshire Police are appealing for witnesses or people with relevant details to come forward, while the pair seek dashcam footage from other drivers at the scene.

Rachel, 46, recounted the horrific incident to BirminghamLive: “It was awful. I just got on the M42, I’ve only been there for a few minutes. Our prayer was higher, if it was. a car he probably would have gone over the top.”

“I was reading a Kindle so I didn’t see what happened, I heard an almighty bang and when I turned around there was a hole in the windscreen and Chris said, ‘My arm’s gone.’

“I leaned forward to make sure he still had one arm and it was hanging. He pulled the steering wheel and put us on the hard shoulder. Suddenly, when the adrenaline wore off, he was screaming in agony.”

“Possibly, if he had hit him full force in the arm, it would have ripped his arm off. We were super lucky, it could have been a lot worse, but equally it shouldn’t have happened.”

Emergency personnel, including highway officers and paramedics, attended the scene. While waiting for an ambulance, Rachel tried to fetch painkillers from the back of the van and that’s when she noticed the Kingpin lock on the back of their vehicle.

“It was hard, I had to use two hands to lift it. It was covered in oil. It must have been coming towards us, as it kept coming from behind. When the traffic police arrived, they said it was a pisan. “

“When you take it (the truck) out it seems to be one of the ground rules; you never travel with him outside, he must travel in the cabin’.

Chris was rushed to Heartlands Hospital in “so much pain” and later transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he was still being treated on Monday 1 July. He had to receive blood transfusions for internal bleeding and underwent surgery, Rachel explained.

“Chris had surgery yesterday, everything went as well as it could have. There’s just a bit of muscle that the surgeon can’t repair because there’s a major artery underneath. He may not swing his arm back to go over his head. , and his job involves that, so it’s awful, they said he’s going to be out of work.”

Rachel continued: “If this guy (truck driver) got to his destination, he might be sitting at home freaking out thinking he’s killed someone. It was awful, but it could have been worse. It will affect our lives for a long time. , for a long time, but I don’t want someone else’s life to be affected and worry themselves to death thinking they killed someone.”

“We are appealing for anyone who was on that stretch of road at the time and has dashcam footage to come forward, then we have somewhere to start. We just want to understand what went wrong.”

Warwickshire Police are investigating an incident in which a projectile smashed through the window of a caravan, seriously injuring the driver. They said: “We are investigating an incident where an object came through the window of a caravan causing serious injuries to the driver’s shoulder. The driver, a man in his 50s, went to hospital with his injuries. The incident was reported to the police at 2.50am. pm on June 21.”

“Any witnesses or anyone with information can go to Tell us something you saw or heard | Warwickshire Police or call 101 quoting incident 206 of 21 June 2024.”

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