A TEENAGE driver has told of the terrifying moment a three-foot log smashed into his windshield after it was thrown from a bridge.
The 17-year-old, who passed his test just three months ago and could have been killed, was driving his BMW 1 Series with two friends at the time.
The young man, who works as a mechanic, was going under the Blue Bridge in Newton Aycliffe.
He said: “I was going from the Esso garage and as I drove under the bridge they chucked the log off and it has hit the window of my car.
“I stopped my car and jumped out. I saw them running away.”
The incident happened at around 8.30pm on Sunday.
The young driver, who is not being named by The Northern Echo, said: “It was pitch black so I could not see a thing when it first hit.
“It was quite scary, but I just about managed to keep control of the car.
“My friends were scared about it. They were shocked.
“If it had been a bit further down the road it would have come through the window.”
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His mother said the log was three foot long with the diameter of a small plate.
She said: “It was like a tree trunk. If it was millimetres different it could have gone through the window.
“He could have been killed. It does not bear thinking about.
“They do not understand the seriousness of what they have done.
“It is not like they have chucked a stone off the bridge. That would be bad enough.
“This is a big heavy weapon. If it had hit him in the face he would have been dead.”
The family said he paid £3,000 for the car using money he earned at work, and has to pay £3,800 for insurance because of his age.
He will find out on Monday if the car is a write off.
His mother said: “I am devastated for him.
“He has left school and worked his backside off to have a nice car.
“Some idiots sat up on a bridge on a Sunday night have done this, which could have wrote his car off “We are shocked that someone could have that mentality to think: ‘I am going to pick that up and throw it on a car’.
“What goes though people’s heads?”
Police have confirmed an investigation is now underway.
A spokeswoman for Durham Constabulary said: “Officers were called to reports of criminal damage after a car was hit with a tree branch whilst travelling along St Cuthbert’s Way, in Newton Aycliffe, at around 8.30pm on Sunday March 6.
“Enquiries are ongoing including the reviewing of CCTV.
“The driver and passengers in the car were uninjured.”
Anyone with information, can contact PC Robyn Meredith at robyn.meredith@durham.police.uk or call 101 with extension 209110.
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