Steering wheel stops steel beam from impaling Michigan man

A Michigan man calls himself blessed after a steel beam came inches from hitting his chest.

Johnnie Lowe was driving a 26-foot box truck to pick up auto parts in Lansing for his employer, DNC Logistics, when a steel beam got loose from a flatbed truck in front of him and collided with his vehicle.

He was navigating a two-lane highway on Thursday when the flatbed suddenly switched lanes.

"I saw something fly off of his truck -- and I thought it was a plank off a privacy fence, like a piece of wood ... and then I saw it was a big piece of steel," Lowe said.

Lowe said he braced himself for impact as the beam smashed into his windshield, covering him in glass.

The steering wheel stopped the beam and kept it from impaling him, miraculously saving him from harm.

"I could feel my face was bleeding. ...Thank God, I had one little cut on my face, but I'm staring at a steel beam about half a foot from my chest."

He said he pulled over, called 911 and his boss, and started taking pictures. That's when the weight of what happened started to hit him.

"I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I was alive."

Lowe credits his driving experience with helping him to keep a level head in the situation, but he said nothing like that has ever happened to him before.

"God blessed me that day."