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

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.

According to local outlets WTVC and Local 3 News, as well as social media posts from her siblings and a GoFundMe page, college student Autumn McClure was sitting in the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s car as the pair drove to Ringgold, Ga., to drop her younger brother off at daycare.

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.”

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.

The brake drum flew out of the back of someone’s truck and struck her in the chest and neck, according to the GoFundMe page, which is being organized by McClure’s brother Collin Le to help with the 20-year-old funeral arrangements.

“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 her obituary.

The obituary adds that donations made to the GoFundMe page — which has raised over $2,500 of its $10,000 goal by the time of publication — will also benefit several wildlife charities.

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.”

“You made such an amazing impact on my life by helping me grow into the person I am today. You were the most amazing person I’ll ever meet,” he wrote.

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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.”