CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Mike Varilone is lucky he wasn't hurt Thursday morning when his drive home from work took an unexpected turn.
“Just like in a flash, a 55-gallon drum smashed into my windshield and the front of my car," he said.
Varilone was traveling east on I-94 between Connor and Harper around 6:20 a.m. when it happened.
He said the large blue industrial drum flew over the westbound lanes, and landed smack in the middle of his windshield.
“It was probably 20 feet in the air," Varilone said. "It came from the other side of the freeway, so I don’t know where it came from. I would assume it fell off a truck.”
That's the mystery. We reached out to MDOT, which did not receive any reports of crashes or disabled vehicles in the area during that time. No MDOT cameras captured the incident either.
“Just a big boom and then it was gone," Varilone told 7 Action News.
Now, he's dealing with the aftermath of this phantom barrel.
“I’ve got the windshield and the radiator is damaged," Varilone said. "I don’t want to pop the hood because I won’t be able to get it closed.”
And getting his car fixed he said won't be an easy task.
“The insurance company wants to say its comprehensive insurance," Varilone said. "It wasn’t under the collision because it fell from the sky apparently.”
Varilone is filing a report with Michigan State Police in hopes of getting some answers.
