Rare 'Wheel Off' Crash On Hwy 75
Tire reportedly smashed into driver's side of an oncoming pickup
By News Channel NebraskaNEBRASKA CITY – The Otoe County Sheriff’s Office reports a freak accident on Highway 75 Saturday involving a wheel coming off of a pickup truck.
An accident report says the front, driver’s side wheel detached from a Sierra K1500 truck driven by 33-year-old Jason Lunzmann of Auburn. The driver of a Chevrolet Colorado pickup told investigators that the wheel struck the front driver’s side.
The driver, 39-year-old Amanda Kubes of Waverly, sustained minor injuries in the crash.
Both trucks left the highway and came to rest safely in the roadside ditch.
Out of the six million car accidents in the United States last year, 35 percent are attributed to mechanical failure. Of that number, tire failure is the highest cause, but Crash Forensics.com says “wheel off crashes” are rare even among tire failure wrecks.
Pennsylvania reported that wheel malfunctions in general accounted for less than 1 percent of all reportable accidents and the rare among the wheel malfunction category. A Morning Call story about “wheel off” accidents said the number of accidents is unknown because they are not always reported.
https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1992-08-10-2872638-story.html
The US Department of Transportation required tire pressure monitoring systems in new vehicles in 2014.