'I feel lucky:' driver escapes unharmed after wind knocks lamp post onto car

Less than two feet.

That's all the space there was between Jasmine Olson's windshield and a large traffic lamp post, after it fell on top of her vehicle early Sunday morning.

• Wind warning issued for metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island

Olson was inside her car, parked at a red light near Quebec Street and Terminal Avenue in Vancouver, when a gust of wind knocked the large metal beam loose.

"At first I didn't know what had happened, there was a big smash," said Olson.

"I feel lucky that I was parked a couple feet back, otherwise it would've gone straight into my windshield."

Olson escaped the ordeal shaken but otherwise unharmed.

Vancouver police shut down the road for a city engineer to remove the pole, while another officer drove Olson home.

Windstorm causes power outages

The accident happened during a windstorm that swept through Metro Vancouver late Saturday night into Sunday morning.

According to B.C. Hydro, as many as 14,000 customers were without power across the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast at one point.

Environment Canada issued a weather alert earlier Saturday, warning some parts of the Mainland could see wind gusts of up to 80 km/h, and up to 100 km/h in parts of Vancouver Island.

The agency is warning commuters to adjust their driving with changing road conditions.