A driver died after a tire came off another vehicle and crashed into his windshield on Interstate Highway 680 near Alamo on Thursday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol said.
The left rear tire of a blue Ford van, headed north on the highway near Stone Valley Road, came loose and bounced over the center divide at about 1:35 p.m., according to the CHP.
The tire went through the windshield of a Toyota Tundra pickup that was traveling southbound, killing the man behind the wheel, according to the CHP. His name was not released. The driver was the only person in the pickup.
It’s not known why the tire came off the van. The van driver and his passenger were not injured.
From another local site…
“A bouncing car tire spun off during a crash on southbound I680 in Alamo is believed to have struck a second driver and caused their vehicle to also crash, killing the driver.
The tragic chain of events, reported at approximately 1:38 p.m., began to unfold when a blue van lost a rear tire during a crash into the center divide south of Stone Valley Road.
The errant tire is believed to have struck a Toyota traveling in the same southbound direction, either incapacitating the driver or causing them to lose control and also crash.
Fire crews responding to the scene were investigating the first crash and assessing occupants for injuries when passersby advised dispatchers of the secondary crash and stressed that the driver of the Toyota had been seriously injured.
That driver was subsequently declared deceased at the scene.”
I wonder if the van was driving around with an already broken wheel stud? It’s a pretty cheap and easy fix for even your shade mechanic to fix.
RIP
A wheel doesn’t just come off an axle …. somehow / somewhere there is negligence involved …. manslaughter at least …. any of us could be a victim of that … sad
Bad luck Dude, RIP
This is a horrific accident which could happen to any of us at any time. My condolences to the victim’s family.
This is why every time a shop removes my tires, I will check the lug nuts to make sure they
are on tight. Years ago, after buying new shocks, I heard a slight thumping noise. I pulled
over to check the wheels and sure enough the lug nuts weren’t on tight. Now, I check them every time a shop needs to remove the wheels to do a job. Another thing to consider, on hot days, especially in stop and go traffic, the brakes will get hot causing the lugs to expand, and contract when they cool down, which may cause them to loosen up a little. I Usually check them when I wash the car.
Dang Dawg! I’d been wondering why my nuts were so hot! I gotta watch my lugs to make sure they don’t expand too much.
This happened to me in the early seventies. I was on a highway and had just gotten up to 55 MPH from a red light when my left front tire flew off. Somehow I was able to get on the shoulder and saw my tire up the road. There were no lug nuts on the wheel. A man pulled over and said he hit my tire. My tire was fine but but his grill was damaged. I borrowed a lug nut from the other wheels and drive carefully. My best guess is that someone was trying to steal my tire but got interrupted and left. I don’t know how I got as far as I did before the wheel came off.
The article states, “The van struck the center divide. “