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Driver Hurt As Pavement Marker Crashes Into Windshield On I-93 In Wilmington

WILMINGTON (CBS) - A driver was injured when a large piece of road debris crashed into her windshield on Interstate 93 in Wilmington Friday morning.

State Police tweeted out photos of the object, which was impaled in the driver's side of the windshield.

The driver reportedly sustained facial injuries.

Related: State Phasing Out Reflectors

Police did not indicate where exactly the object may have come from or what it is.

Object through windshield
(Mass State Police Photo)

But, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation told WBZ-TV it "appears to be an older style raised pavement marker."

"These markers were a popular solution, supported by federal officials, in the 1990s to help drivers delineate travel lanes in inclement weather conditions and at night," Sara Lavoie said in an email.

"In the late 2000s, our highway districts began a systematic removal of these markers from our roads. One of the reasons for the removal was that cold weather states had begun reporting these markers had a tendency to become dislodged during snow and ice operations."

The older markers are being replaced across the state with a new recessed marker with grooved pavement and a small plastic reflector.

"The raised markers along this section of I-93 are scheduled for removal this summer as part of a $16 million resurfacing and roadway improvements project in Wilmington and Woburn," Lavoie said.

"More immediately, our district forces will visit this area to ensure there are no additional existing markers that have been loosened by plows, trucks, or any other condition."

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