ISU college student thankful to be alive after pumpkin crashes through windshield
DANVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — College student Caleb Needham was home from Indiana State University over the weekend.
He was driving to his parents’ house in Danville on I-70 just south of Plainfield when a pumpkin crashed through his windshield.
Needham said, just before he went under an overpass, he noticed the semi in front of him swerve and saw pumpkin splattered in the road. Before he knew it, one landed on his passenger seat and he quickly realized someone had dropped it from above.
Covered in glass and in shock, Needham calmly pulled to the side of the interstate, called his parents and then called police. “I just started shaking I guess because I was just like scared I guess because I could have died in that instance,” Needham said.
He is now back at school with just a few scratches, something his dad, Joe Needham, is thankful for. “This could have caused a major accident, not just with Caleb. You know, he could have jerked the steering wheel or went off the road. It could have killed him. He could have ran into other vehicles. He could have crossed the median. You know, so many other things could have happened with this.”
Those are all points Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine really hopes to drive home. “These can be deadly, and we’ve seen that before and we really want people to understand the potential ramifications that can come from throwing something at a moving car.”
Caleb and his family said they forgive the person who dropped the pumpkin and they’re hopeful they come forward. “Maybe they’ll come and apologize or something and say, ‘Hey, I was wrong,’ but maybe it will at least impact them from where they’re at today to where they’re at in the future so they don’t do this to someone else.”
Police said so far this is the only report of people dropping pumpkins they’ve received and are investigating. They are asking people on the interstate to pay close attention and call them if they see anything suspicious.
