Aaron Sullivan considers himself lucky to be alive after a rock smashed through his car windscreen while he was driving at 110km/h.
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Mr Sullivan was travelling west on the Hunter Expressway about 10.30pm on Tuesday when a rock was lobbed through his window from the Avery's Lane overpass above.
"I heard this noise - I thought something had exploded, I thought it was one of my tyres," he said.
"It scared the s--- out of me.
"Glass was everywhere. I didn't know what to think."
As he slowed down to pull over, Mr Sullivan said he noticed a giant hole in his windscreen.
"The rock landed right beside me," he said.
"If it would have hit me it could have killed me.
"They were 15 centimetres away from a manslaughter charge."
The rock, which he photographed next to a tape measure as 14 centimetres long and eight centimetres wide, hit his belt buckle - smashing it "into about 10 pieces".
It also damaged his centre console.
"There was glass all through the car," he said. "I was pretty lucky."
After Mr Sullivan pulled over, two other motorists also stopped to check if he was okay.
He called police, who also received three other reports of the same thing happening in that location between 9.30pm and 10.30pm on the same night.
Mr Sullivan said he would have to pay for a whole new windscreen and has not been able to drive to work the past few days as his car is out of action.
The incident has understandably left Mr Sullivan shaken.
"I won't go on the expressway again, or if I do, I'll get off before that overpass," he said.
When asked what he thought of the person who threw the rock Mr Sullivan said he could not believe someone would do something like this.
"I'm not sure what to say but I hope they know they were 15 centimetres away from a manslaughter charge," he said.
"I'm really not sure what they were thinking when they decided to throw rocks at cars."
A spokeswoman for NSW Police said officers were investigating the incidents.
She appealed for anyone who may have information about what happened to contact authorities.
Information that may assist inquiries should be reported to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
