A 38-year-old Okeechobee, Fla., woman was killed on Wednesday, June 30, when restrooms came loose from a carrier trailer and the debris went through the windshield of her car.

Dawn Johnston was driving south on U.S. 441 at about 11 a.m., when the restrooms fell off of a 10-unit restroom trailer being pulled by a northbound pickup truck, according to news accounts. The units broke apart, then debris hit Johnston’s car. The car then veered off the road and struck trees. Johnston was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead. A 27-year-old passenger in the car suffered a broken hip.

Dewey Lightsey, 55, was driving the pickup truck. He is listed as owner of All Clean Services, Okeechobee, and news accounts said he was returning the units to a storage facility. Lightsey and a passenger in the truck were uninjured. According to the media Web site, tcpalm.com, the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the hold-down straps on the trailer.

Johnston is survived by three children, ages 13, 12 and 9. Her mother Colleen Heitmann, told local media that the crash was “a freak accident. Accidents happen.’’

Whether or not fault is assigned to anyone in this terrible crash, it underscores the importance of carefully securing loads every time we pull equipment on a pickup, flatbed truck or trailer. If you have a reaction to this crash, send me an e-mail at editor@pumper.com.