Driver killed on I-580 in freak accident

(05-22) 17:09 PDT LIVERMORE --

A man driving on Interstate 580 near Livermore was killed Wednesday when a metal pipe crashed through his windshield and hit him in the jaw, the California Highway Patrol said.

Michael Alan Cox, 33, of Roseville (Placer County) was driving west on I-580 west of Grant Line Road in his 2003 Volvo XC70 about 8:10 a.m. when the accident occurred, authorities said.

Cox's car crashed into an embankment off the center divide and he died at the scene, said CHP Officer Tyler Hahn.

"Unfortunately, I hate to use a cliche, but it's like being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Hahn said. "It was a freak accident for sure."

The pipe was 2 to 3 feet long and 1 to 2 inches in diameter, Hahn said. It was probably being used as extra leverage to strap down a large load on a truck and fell off, but it could be all but impossible to determine its source, he said.