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by Dave Savini
CHICAGO (CBS) ― A device that is supposed to prevent accidents on the highway can blow out your tire, rupture your gas tank, and shoot through your windshield without warning.

Adults and children are getting injured and reportedly killed by the metal part of raised road reflectors, and CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini has a warning every motorist needs to see.

Dr. Patricia O'Brien was one of those who was blindsided when she was hit by a chunk of metal that tore through her windshield and her face.

"Literally, boom the next thing I knew there was searing pain and I couldn't see," O'Brien said.

The metal was part of a raised road reflector, a device used on highways, tollways and county roads that on on the surface seems harmless and is designed to prevent accidents.

But O'Brien said, "I didn't know there were so many other people that have been hit by these things."

And if conditions are right, they can cause serious injury. Beneath the plastic reflector is a 5-pound piece of metal, and as roads break down they can come loose and pop out.

The likelihood of that happening increases if snowplow blades hit them. Across the country, the metal parts of the reflectors have left cars damaged and people injured or even killed.

"It shattered me," O'Brien said. "Teeth, tongue, face, hand, arm."

It was October 2003 when O'Brien, a college professor in Elgin, had her accident on the tollway near Hinsdale. She has endured numerous operations and speech therapy. Her severed tongue and facial nerves are permanently damaged.

"If you can imagine pain so intense that you lose the ability to see," O'Brien said.

Our 2 Investigators found hundreds of these road reflectors missing from area roads. Some were cracked. Others falling apart in pieces posing a danger to motorists. In Naperville, we came across one that was split in half. We found another one lying right in the middle of a Wheaton intersection, and a third that was so loose that it could be pulled from the road.

Since 2000, there have been 70 cases in Illinois of cars being damaged by road reflectors.

O'Brien's attorney, Brian Murphy, filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Toll Highway Authority and the manufacturer of the road reflectors, stemming from O'Brien's injury.

"These come up with somewhat alarming frequency," Murphy said of accidents involving road reflectors.

"If you're going to put something in your roadway, you better make sure it stays where it's put," Murphy added.

Even when they stay where they are supposed to, damaged road reflectors have punctured tires and can be deadly.

Rachel Buckman, 41, was driving on a highway in her home state of Kentucky when her sport-utility rolled over and she was killed. A damaged reflector is being blamed in a lawsuit for puncturing her tire and causing the accident.

"There have to be alternative ways to keep the highway safe," O'Brien said.

Only about half of the states in the United States use the type of metal-based reflector in question, and some, including Missouri, are considering removing them.

In Missouri, raised road reflectors are being replaced with reflective tape. That is because last year, a road reflector smashed through a windshield and severely injured 7-year-old C.J. Volckman.

Tollway officials say O'Brien's complaint is the only one about road reflectors. They had no further comment because of the pending lawsuit.

The Illinois Department of Transportation reports 69 property damage claims since 2000. A spokesman there says the safety provided by the reflectors outweighs what they consider to be a low possibility of an incident.

Several county highway departments are also receiving multiple damage claims.

The county information listed below is in addition to IDOT's 69 reported property damage claims and the one Illinois State Toll Highway Authority injury claim.

COOK COUNTY
There is limited use of metal casting reflectors on Cook County roadways. The county has received a "handful" of claims involving punctured tires and property damage.

DUPAGE COUNTY
In 2003, Dupage County stopped installing metal casting reflectors. Existing reflectors will be removed when roads are resurfaced. Punctured tire claims had been filed with the county. County highway officials say they will take a closer look at the current problem discovered by CBS 2.

KANE COUNTY
Officials say in 2001 they began removing metal casting road reflectors. Previously, one or two tire damage claims had been filed.

LAKE COUNTY, IL
Lake County uses these metal-based road reflectors. Since 1983 only four claims have been filed.

LAKE COUNTY, IN
For financial reasons, metal-based reflectors are only used on two roads. These were installed in the past couple of years and there have been no damage claims.

WILL COUNTY
Will County uses these reflectors. Highway officials say they have not received damage claims.

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