CHICAGO -- It was supposed to be a typical scene in the action movie "Transformers 3" -- drivers moving along a busy highway as explosions occur in the opposite lane.
But Wednesday night, while a movie crew was filming on Cline Avenue in Hammond, Ind., something went terribly wrong. Gabriela Cedillo, 24, of Chicago, who was working as an extra, was critically injured when a metal object smashed through the windshield of her Toyota and struck her in the head.
The incident happened around 7 p.m. as the movie crew filmed a stunt using numerous vehicles and drivers, according to police. After she was injured, Cedillo's 2006 Toyota continued moving, skidding along the inner median concrete barrier wall for about a mile before coming to a stop.
A spokeswoman for the "Transformers 3" production did not return repeated phone calls on Thursday. But police said a cable pulling some vehicles snapped and a flying object struck Cedillo.
Blaine Baker, who said he was one of about 100 extras on the scene Wednesday, described how he and other extras sat in cars on the right shoulder of the road and saw Cedillo's car skid by.
"When the car came by, it was hugging the rail in the middle of the street," said Baker, 59, of Palatine, Ill. "We saw it go over the hill and we heard a huge crash. We said, 'Somebody better call the police and ambulance because somebody just got hurt.' "
Cedillo was airlifted to Loyola University Hospital in Maywood, Ill., with a serious head injury, police said. Police said family members told them she was listed in critical condition.
At the "Transformers 3" shoot, extras were paid minimum wage, plus $25 a day for the use of their car, Baker said.
Cedillo, who is employed as a bank teller near her home, always dreamed of appearing in movies, her family said.
"She always wanted to be an actress," said her brother, Adan Cedillo.
The manager of the bank where she worked said Gabriela was thrilled to participate in ther film -- her first gig as an extra.
"She was just really excited," said Rudy Medina, branch manager of the Second Federal Savings branch, where Cedillo has worked as a teller for about three years.
Medina said people at the bank, around the corner from her home, are "all praying" for Cedillo's recovery.
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