HOUSTON – A 69-year-old woman was killed Saturday when a metal tow ball hitch flew through her windshield and struck her while she was driving on I-10.

Authorities said Chanh Thi Larsson, accompanied by her husband, was driving a beige Ford Explorer near 13000 East Freeway around 10 a.m. when a piece of debris struck the driver's side windshield.

The woman was incapacitated, so her husband grabbed the steering wheel and managed to guide the vehicle to a stop, according to authorities.

The woman's husband moved her to the back seat and drove to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

An investigation is ongoing.

Six days earlier, a Houston man died when a wheel became detached from a moving vehicle on the Pierce Elevated section of I-45 in downtown Houston.

Abdias Leyva, 36, died in that accident.

In March, Paul Hoffman, 60, was killed on Highway 146 when a large bolt smashed through his windshield.

Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation said crews continuously remove hazardous road debris from Houston area highways, but noted that drivers should take special care securing their loads. They said commuters should be equally cautious and attentive to potentially hazardous situations.

"We're asking folks, when they're out there, that they're securing their loads. Make sure they're strapping things down," said TxDOT spokesman Danny Perez.

Perez acknowledged that some accidents and incidents are unexpected, even by the most attentive of drivers.

"Our sympathies to the victim, and to the family," Perez said.

Anyone with additional information in this case is asked to contact the Houston Police Department Vehicular Crimes Division at 713-247-4072.

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