Canada-Woman Dies After Loose Truck Wheel Strikes Her Car

[SevenOfNine]

She was on her way to an after-school event involving her 15-year-old daughter.

But the 41-year-old woman behind the wheel of her Mercedes never made it.

The driver was killed on the QEW at Third Line Thursday night, when a giant truck wheel suddenly snapped off a big rig, crossed the median and smashed through her windshield. It took only a few seconds and the victim had no time to react. She died instantly.

"Those tires, when they hit, it's almost like 1,000 pounds just coming down on you and it hits squarely in the vehicle right in the middle of the hood, the windshield and the roof," points out O.P.P. Cst. David Woodfield.

The trucker kept on driving for some 20 minutes after the accident, unaware it had even happened. The big rigs have three sets of tires and it's believed he wasn't even aware one was missing.

"He might feel a bump or a shudder maybe, but you know, you can feel that hitting big bumps in the road or potholes here and there," Woodward outlines. "So for him it may not have been unusual."

Police will be checking the truck's maintenance records but say this wasn't a case of loose wheelnuts. The tires came off together with the rims and brake drums attached.

"In order for it to come off, there's a hub assembly that's held on by wheel bearings, and there's nuts that will hold that wheel bearing and that hub assembly onto here," the veteran officer explains. "Something in that assembly has failed and that's why they've been able to come off."

Authorities don't expect to lay any criminal charges in the tragedy, but say the driver and/or the trucking company could face a fine up to $20,000 under the Highway Traffic Act.

The name of the victim hasn't been released.

story link

 

[kennyc4life]

To think it can happen that quick and you do not even have a chance to realize it...That is so sad to think about and she had just left her daughter from school...On the same hand the Truck driver will never forget it either....

 

[Apostolic]

This very same thing happened to a New England Motor Freight P & D driver I know.
Its been a few years ago.
He was north bound on our 390 express way,about 20 miles south of Rochester NY.
He was on his way into the Rochester terminal,from a country route.
He was almost maxed out to the governed speed which is 65.
The seed limit is 65 on that part of of the exway,so he wasn't speeding.
The left front wheel assembly brock off on a straight stretch of the road.
It was the hand of God for him to be able to bring his loaded rig with all his pickups to a safe stop on the right shoulder of the road.
But he helplessly watched the tire assembly bounce across the median and up over a south bound car,than bouncing on down the roadside before it came to a stop.
Their was one man in the car,who was killed on impact.
The tractor was inspected,and was found to be just ware.
No blame went to the driver,or the company as there was no way of knowing this was about to break.
However NEMF paid the insurance claim for the accident.
In all of my 43 years of driving I find this is a very rare thing to happen,maybe a few I've seen on trailers.
But this is a first on a front axel of a tractor.
May God have mercy on all of us pro.drivers.
You just never know what your day,or night may bring,when you clock in for your job.

 

[JWor]

Check your stuff Drivers! Yesterday another driver and myself were p/u book's from a local school. We were out by our tractors fixing to leave when I noticed he had a lug about to fall off. He put it back on best he could by hand and was fixing to run by the shop to get it tightened. The tractor had just came from the shop for a break job. We checked the others and found 3 more lugs that were loose. You could see where the other lugs were rubbing on the rim. My best guess is they never tightened any of them. 1 loose lug, i'll buy that but 4! Aint no way. I bet if we could have gotten the weight off of the axel we probrably coulda gotten the others off too. Fortunatly he had bob-tailed to where we were so he wasnt under a load.

But still dispatch wanted to know if he could make it to the shop. lol. Needless to say the driver found him a nice comfortable shade tree to sit under while he waited for roadside.