An Albury father says it's "lucky no one was killed" after piece of concrete was thrown from the Harold Mair bridge into his car.
Border dance teacher and graphic designer Glen Strauss was travelling home from a Christmas party with his wife Niki about midnight on Saturday night when the projectile was tossed from above the Hume Highway as they travelled south between the Borella Road and East Street exits.
The piece of concrete, about the size of a human fist, pierced the windscreen of the couple's car and struck Mrs Strauss, a singing coach and hairdresser, in the chest.
The impact caused glass to shatter throughout the vehicle, some which went in Mr Strauss' eye with other fragments making his wife's legs bleed.
The father-of-two said it had been a traumatic experience for the couple and he was thankful his children weren't in the car at the time.
"It happened so quickly. One minute we were just talking, driving home, and then the windscreen just imploded and Niki could feel pain in her chest," Mr Strauss said.
"It was very scary. Niki was shaking when we got home.
"We were very lucky to walk away from this. It is lucky no one was killed.
"It could have hit Niki in the face, it could have hit me on the driver's side while I was driving. It was terrible, but it could have been a whole lot worse."
Mr Strauss has reported the incident to Albury police but was hopeful, rather than confident, that the perpetrators could be found.
He has called for CCTV cameras to be installed along the Harold Mair bridge as a deterrent for future incidents.
A spokesperson said Albury Council's CCTV network extended to the end of Dean Street but not as far as the bridge, which was owned by Transport for NSW.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said "CCTV is one of the tools we have available to us, however, due to the size of our network we assess on a case-by-case basis".
"Harold Mair Bridge has protective screens already installed for the safety of pedestrians and road users below," the spokesperson said.
"Transport for NSW crews will inspect the bridge to check if there is maintenance needed in this location.
"We will be sharing the incident with our infrastructure protection and resilience team for consideration of the need in this location."
The Border Mail visited the bridge on Monday afternoon and observed an empty beer can and a syringe at the eastern end of the walkway.
Mr Strauss highlighted a case in Denver, Colorado, where three teenagers have been charged with murder after throwing a rock into a vehicle which killed 20-year-old woman Alexa Bartell.
"These people need to realise that this isn't a prank. It could have been deadly," he said.
"If you think you're playing, if you think you're having fun by throwing things at people, you don't realise how much damage you're actually causing.
"It was not a cool experience."
A NSW Police spokesperson encouraged the public to report dangerous or anti-social behaviour by contacting Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Xavier Mardling
Xavier started at The Border Mail in Albury-Wodonga in 2001, covering sport and general news before moving to the subs' desk. He was editor of his hometown masthead from 2016 to 2020 before swapping the Murray for Merewether. He returned to The Border Mail as editor in 2023.
Xavier started at The Border Mail in Albury-Wodonga in 2001, covering sport and general news before moving to the subs' desk. He was editor of his hometown masthead from 2016 to 2020 before swapping the Murray for Merewether. He returned to The Border Mail as editor in 2023.
