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Snow on truck explodes as it collides with overpass

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WAREHAM, MA (WCVB/CNN) - Driving along in the days following a major winter storm is often done at your own peril.

“I was just kind of in shock because it was like a mini snow explosion,” Jennifer Richards said.

Richards was driving along Route 25 heading north in Wareham, MA, south of Boston, Thursday afternoon when she saw a truck with leftover snow still on top.

She became concerned as it approached an overpass. She didn’t know if it was snow or ice stacked on top.

“I wasn’t sure because it was like a day or two after the big storm and a lot of it has turned to ice,” Richards said. “And I got in the right-hand lane just in case. I was afraid of it coming down on my windshield,” she recalled.

Her teenaged daughter captured the video while Richards drove. The tarp on the overpass actually hit her car.

She said the truck driver pulled over, put the hazards on then kept going.

MassDOT crews were on scene Friday morning fixing the black tarp with traffic down to one lane.

The contractor said the netting is brand new. Coincidentally, it had just been put up about two hours before the truck hit it.

“The point of me putting the video out there was basically, we were just lucky that it wasn’t ice, that it was a little bit softer,” Richards said.

Some cities and counties have laws against driving with snow on top of vehicles.

Police warn that even in jurisdictions where it isn't illegal, motorists run the risk of facing lawsuits if snow from their vehicles damages someone else's property.

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