Marcus Kasprzyk said he was driving along Highway 99 when a pipe appeared to fall off a car.
The metal pipe crashed through the windshield and got lodged between the steering wheel and the dashboard.
"I was in shock at first, and all I could stare at after my car stopped was the bottom of the pipe," said Kasprzyk.
Highway patrol officers said the pipe would have impaled the 41-year-old if it hadn't hit the steering wheel.