Woman, 20, Dies in Freak Accident After Loose Car Part Flies Through Windshield and Strikes Her

Mar. 15, 2025

Autumn McClure.Photo:GoFundMe

GoFundMe

A 20-year-old woman died in a freak car accident in Georgia after a brake drum flew off of another vehicle and crashed through her windshield.

McClure’s sister Simone Matherly wrote in a Facebook post that a brake caliper flew through the windshield of their car and “killed her almost instantly” in “a crazy car accident.”

Autumn McClure in a photo shared to her Instagram account.Autumn McClure/Instagram

Autumn McClure/Instagram

According to Local 3 News, the Ringgold police chief confirmed that the accident happened on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 14, as she and her boyfriend were headed southbound on I-75 from her home in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., just north of the state border.

“Autumn passed before emergency services could arrive,” the GoFundMe states.

Ringgold police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

McClure was the salutatorian of the Soddy-Daisy High School class of 2022, studied graphic design at Chattanooga State Community College and was passionate about nature and going to concerts, according to herobituary.

McClure in a video shared to her Instagram page.Autumn McClure/Instagram

Many of her friends and family members took to social media to open up about the 20-year-old’s life following her death. In a Facebook post, Matherly wrote that “even typing this out seems like an out of body experience.”

“Losing a sibling is never something you want to imagine, I’ve thought about it when we’re all grey and old but not like this,” she wrote in part. “She would have been 21 next month. She was going to graphic design school. She had so many plans and dreams. Myself and my family are in complete disbelief. It still doesn’t seem real.”

McClure’s boyfriend, Tyler Nunley, wrote in a lengthy Instagram caption that she was “the brightest most spectacular part of my life.”

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McClure’s twin sister, Ivy McClure, also took to Instagram to write about her sister’s death.

“I will miss you for the rest of my life,” she wrote in part, addressing a post to her sister. “you have been my best friend since the day we were born. i will never have enough words to describe just how much you mean to me, but i can say that i will always remember you for your kind heart, you humor, your intelligence, your brightness.”

source: people.com