Kentucky Sportswriter’s Sunroof Explodes on I-275

I used to drive a car with a sunroof. It was a 2006 Hyundai Sonata and it was a good car. And I enjoyed that sunroof.

Word must have gotten out about how MUCH I liked it because, apparently, there are those who can't believe I'd get another car since they call me all the time asking me about my warranty on it.

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Pat Forde is based in Louisville and has been a sports columnist for the Courier-Journal. While writing for the LCJ, he has also written nationally for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, and, currently, Sports Illustrated.

He's a great writer and I'll tend to read any of his stories, even if their subjects aren't of primary interest to me. He writes a lot of football and basketball stories. He also extensively covers horse racing, naturally. And because his daughter is an NCAA swimmer, that's a favorite field of Pat's as well. I'm a fan. Great writer.

The other day, Forde was driving on Interstate 75 in northern Kentucky within the Cincinnati metropolitan area and his sunroof exploded.

Before we go any further, number three WAS NOT the reason.

But a question he asked later in the thread is a good one. CAN sunroofs explode under certain conditions? And the answer is yes, although the chances are slim.

Consumer Reports acknowledges the infrequency of such a bizarre and jarring occurrence. It also seems to say that no one really knows why, unless it's simply because the sunroof is too big and there's too much glass.

Still, I've never heard of it happening until I saw Forde's tweet. And then I learned that there have been far more complaints of "exploding" sunroofs than I would have guessed, although the number IS admittedly low.

I've seen vehicles with larger sunroofs than I'D like to have on a vehicle. I'm no automotive designer by any STRETCH of the imagination, but it just seems like the smaller the window, the more opportunity for it to slide back.

Anyway, I hope this never happens to you. I can't imagine it occurring while I'm driving on a busy interstate like he was.

Terrifying.