A pickup truck hauling unsecured metal pipes turned an Orange County freeway into a real-life scene straight out of Final Destination Thursday when the cargo speared through a sedan — narrowly missing the driver.

The terrifying crash unfolded after the pickup slammed into the gray sedan, sending several lengthy metal pipes hurtling through the car’s rear window.

“After investigation, it was determined the white pickup truck loaded with metal pipes crashed into the gray sedan. After the initial impact, the unsecured metal pipes from the pickup truck were propelled forward, into the sedan, and through the sedan’s rear window. Fortunately, only minor injuries were reported,” California Highway Patrol (CHP) Santa Ana wrote on Instagram.

The driver escaped with only minor injuries despite the pipes punching into the passenger compartment in a near-tragedy.

“Had this crash resulted in a fatality, the driver of the truck could have faced charges for manslaughter,” CHP further said.

Authorities used the frightening incident to remind drivers to properly secure their loads with “rope, netting, bungee cords, or straps” and to “use a sturdy tarp or netting to keep debris from escaping.”

The Orange County close call came just a week after another horrifying debris crash on Interstate 15 in Temecula.

In that incident, a pregnant woman was nearly impaled when a metal bar flew off a truck, crashed through her windshield and struck her in the stomach.

She suffered minor injuries, while her unborn baby was unharmed.

The danger posed by unsecured cargo is far from rare. Between 2011 and 2014, road debris caused more than 200,000 police-reported crashes and killed 500 people, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

A report released in November 2025 found the problem has continued, estimating that “road debris was a factor in an estimated 319,724 motor vehicle crashes, 32,802 injuries, and 433 fatalities in the United States between 2018 and 2023, averaging approximately 53,000 crashes, 5,500 injuries, and 72 deaths annually.”