Narrow escape from Iraq ambush caught on video

CTV has obtained dramatic video of a dangerous ambush in Iraq that shows a bullet from an insurgent flying through the windshield of a truck.

Joanne Bradshaw says she came forward with the nearly five-month-old footage of her husband Loren's convoy coming under attack to underscore the perils foreign workers face in their day-to-day jobs.

Loren Bradshaw's colleague Preston Wheeler, a civilian driver for an American company that transports goods in Iraq, had his camera rolling when he was driving in a U.S. military convoy in Iraq on Sept. 20, 2005.

When he and 11 other drivers were accidentally led down the wrong road, the convoy came under attack in the city of Samarra.

"They ended up in a dead-end and they had to turn the convoy around," Joanne Bradshaw told CTV News at her home in Wahnapitae near Sudbury, Ont. "They were in the kill zone and they were being shot at."

The bullet that went through the windshield hit Wheeler in the arm. But still he continued rolling the camera, and as bullets continued to whiz by, Wheeler is heard fervently praying for his life.

"Jesus Christ, help us all Lord. We've been hit. He fired a shot," yells Wheeler.

As the shooting intensifies, a supply truck ahead of Wheeler hits a roadside bomb and flips over.

To make matters worse, Wheeler's own truck stalled, leaving him trapped and blocking the trucks behind him.

"I can't move, please help me," Wheeler is heard pleading.

Although he feared death was imminent, he continued to record the attack.

"His truck was all shot at. He saw his friend being dragged out and being stoned first. And the guy is yelling, pleading for his life. Then they shot him in the back of the head," Joanne Bradshaw explained.

Loren Bradshaw told CTV Newsnet late Thursday that while three of five gunner humvees sped away from the ambush, two of them travelling behind Wheeler's stalled truck stayed and fought. If they hadn't, Bradshaw said he believes all the drivers may have been killed.

After about 45 agonizing minutes, the U.S. Army air support arrived on the scene, just in time to rescue Bradshaw and the surviving drivers. However, by that time, three of the 12 drivers had died.

Fighting had decreased by that time, and after 2.5 hours, the U.S. Quick Response Force arrived. Two hours after that, U.S. tanks arrived on the scene and the remaining contractors were rescued.

Though Bradshaw escaped physical injury, his wife said the traumatic ordeal left emotional scars.

"He's messed up right now. Everything has changed in him. Even his sense of humour is more ... cold," said Joanne Bradshaw.

The footage was originally confiscated by the U.S. army, but she said it "popped back up on the woodpile" and her husband sent it to her last week.

"The reason why it took so long for him to send it is because he was preparing me for it," she told CTV.ca.

"I didn't know how bad the situation was, plus he had his issues, so he had to talk to a psychiatrist for a while."

Loren Bradshaw, an American who is in the process of immigrating to Canada, has been in Iraq for almost a year-and-a-half.

Though Bradshaw came home during Christmas for a short visit, he has since returned to Iraq.

a report from CTV Sudbury's Sacha Novack