Bullets riddle Chicago woman's car -- but phone saves her life by deflecting shot to the head

A Chicago woman may have had her life saved because she was talking on a cellphone when someone opened fire on her car.

The Chicago Tribunereported that Jeniece Smiley was driving to pick up a friend on Monday night when she heard gunfire.

"She said she didn't realize, she thought they were shooting at someone else," her father, John Smiley, told the paper.

Smiley's car rolled into a vacant lot after it was hit with the hail of gunfire. Police said that spent cartridges were recovered in the middle of a nearby street.

She was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where she was said to be in serious condition from bullet wounds to the head, shoulder and arm.

But her father believes that her life was saved because she was holding her phone to her left ear at the time of the shooting.

"It hit the phone, that’s what saved her," John Smiley explained. "I’m OK now. She's going to be all right."

Investigators were reviewing surveillance video to identify possible suspects.

According to WGN-TV, at least nine other people were injured in shootings in the Chicago area on Monday night.

Watch the video below from WGN.