Toronto couple escapes unharmed after ice chunk smashes through windshield

A Toronto couple is grateful to have escaped unscathed aftera trip to the mall for some Boxing Day shopping ended with a large boulder of ice crashing through the windshield of their car.

Millie Boellasays she and her partnerwere driving to Yorkdale Mall Tuesday evening on the Allen Road approaching Flemington Road, when all of a sudden her windshield seemed to explode.

"Out of nowhere, this boulder just went through the windshield,"Boellatold CBC Toronto. "I didn't know what happened, I didn't know if it was an explosion."

The ice chunk tore straight through the passenger side of the car,Boellasaid, landing squarely on her.

"We were just sitting there in shock, snow everywhere and glass everywhere."

Fortunately no one was badly hurt and the mall was only about a three-minute drive away.

So with a gaping hole in their windshield and a boulder of ice in Boella's hands,she said the pair was able to pull safely into Nordstrom's valet parking area where they called police, insurance and 311 in that order.

Toronto police say they are investigating the report, but that it may be tricky unless there are witnesses.

"The investigation will have to reveal whether this piece of ice was thrown or whether it fell and right now we just don't have that information," Const. Rob Reid said, adding surveillance video would be helpful in determining just what happened.

"There's all kinds of possibilities. Certainly not discounting what the complainants are saying but without witnesses or video it's very difficult to say where this chunk of ice came from, whether it was actually thrown or whether it fell on its own or whether it was pushed off by, for example, a passing snowplow."

Boella says she and her partner did a bit of investigating of their own after the incident and saw no plows or trucks in the area, nor any ice on the underpass that could have broken off. She believes the chunk was thrown intentionally.

"If it is a person who indeed did it, then they should be brought to justice because they might do this to somebodyelse and that person might not be as lucky as we were."

All told, she says, the damage was about $350, with insurance covering the bulk of the bill.

For now, Boella says she's grateful no one was badly hurt but hopes police will be able to get to the bottom of what happened. She's also grateful to the mall for its part in accommodating the pair.

"I'm very thankful to Yorkdale Mall for allowing us to park overnight and being very willing to help us with whatever we needed at the time."