Woman left with unsettling questions after concrete chunk crashes through windshield

SALT LAKE COUNTY — A driver who was injured by a piece of concrete that flew through her windshield said Tuesday that the ordeal left her with some unsettling questions.

Sharon Cockayne said around 5 p.m. Monday, she was driving south along the west belt of Interstate 215, near 4100 South, when, without warning, the concrete chunk broke the glass in front of her. 

The chunk impacted the left side of her face, breaking bones and leaving cuts near her eye and a gash on her cheek that required 15 stitches.

She acknowledged Tuesday evening that her hearing and balance still weren’t what they normally were.

“Generally, if something is coming at you, at your windshield, you see it,” Cockayne told KSL-TV. “This one, I just didn’t see coming.”

Cockayne said she still isn’t sure how she was able to safely make her way off of the freeway to call for help. She said she was just grateful to be alive, and noted that if the concrete had come through an inch or two over that it may have killed her.

“I want people to see this,” she said, pointing to her facial injuries. “I want them to understand the severity of either not tying down your load or thinking you’re funny dropping something off of an overpass.”

Cockayne said she ultimately didn’t know where the chunk came from, but she suspected it may have come from the 4100 South overpass.

“I think it may have come off of an overpass or either somebody dropped it thinking it was funny,” Cockayne said. “I don’t know.”

A spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol said Tuesday that troopers had not yet determined where the concrete chunk came from and were still investigating the matter.

Cockayne also encouraged drivers to increase their personal injury protection coverage on their car insurance policies because a few dollars per month can ultimately make a significant difference in the amount of coverage for unplanned medical bills.

“I don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” she said.