A St George’s woman counts herself lucky to have dodged serious injury after a truck dropped half-tonne steel beams into her path as she drove to work.

“It could have been lots, lots worse,” the 49-year-old Customs officer told The Royal Gazette, despite sustaining a broken arm in the crash.

Now the woman, who requested not to be identified, is appealing for witnesses to provide police with their accounts of the accident, which she believes never needed to happen.

“It’s negligence. The beams were in the back of a dump truck. They should have been in a flatbed truck. People have said that — and look what happened.”

Now recovering at home after the crash on January 7, she will be unable to return to work until March.

Police said the collision occurred at about 10am on Kindley Field Road, St George’s, near Stone Crusher Corner.

According to a spokesman, a truck being driven east was carrying a load of steel beams secured by straps when one of the straps broke.

“A few of the beams then dropped on to the road and a car being driven in the opposite direction collided with one of them.

“Apparently a motorcyclist travelling behind the car fell to the road after striking the rear of the car, as well as one of the fallen beams.”

The woman said she had been on her way to work when the girder careened into the road.

“It actually landed underneath her car — she swerved to the left, and I tried to avoid her at the same time. I just slightly knocked her car, which knocked me off my bike. If I hadn’t struck the car it probably would have been a lot worse.

“I saw the beam at the last split second. I didn’t want my head to hit it — that was my last reaction.”

Instead of colliding directly with the beam, she struck her arm, breaking the humerus.

“My arm actually went behind me, like it wasn’t even there — for a second I thought I had lost it.”

The driver of the other vehicle, which also sustained damage, was able to support her while calling police. “The beam could have went through her car, or I could have been in front of the car.”

A neighbour and family friend who happened to be in the vicinity said that she had earlier noticed the truck pulling over by Claytown in Hamilton Parish, apparently re-securing the girders.

“I was going for a walk along Kindley Field Road. We had just pulled over to park our car when the truck came past.

“Just shortly after I locked the car is when I heard the crash.

“For that truck to carry girders like that was a very unsafe practice. There needs to be a law put in place — anything of that sort needs to be on a flat bed. It could have killed someone.”

The female Customs officer was the only person injured, and had to have surgery to have a plate put in her arm. “Every time I think about it, I’m just thankful it wasn’t the worst-case scenario,” she said.

“I’m just glad I am here. Now I will deal with what I have to deal with.”

The police spokesman said that an investigation continues into the incident.

He added: “Any witnesses that have not already come forward should contact the main police telephone number, 295-0011.”