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Keith Lapeze • Mar 03, 2021

Mother Killed in Freak Accident When Loose Wheel Flies Through Windshield

Authorities report that a Texas mother was killed on Thursday, Feb. 25, when a tire flew off another vehicle, leading to a freak accident and her death.

The incident occurred on the Eastex Freeway near New Caney. The details of the crash remain under investigation.

The Incident

The freak accident occurred when a tire flew off a Dodge pickup truck traveling on the northbound lanes of the freeway. It’s unclear whether the truck driver was injured during the event.

The tire left the truck with enough force to fly over the concrete barrier of the freeway and break through the windshield of a GMC pickup driven by the now-deceased 52-year-old mother. The tire struck the woman, killing her instantly.

The woman’s 17-year-old son was asleep in the front seat of the GMC at the time of the crash. He was seriously injured in the incident and was transported to a local hospital.

The GMC then rear-ended a car carrying a father and his three children before sliding into a concrete barrier, losing its right rear wheel before finally halting.

The father and three children involved in the wreck were also severely injured. They were hospitalized and are now in stable condition.

Investigators have not yet announced what caused the tire to fly off the Dodge truck.

Tire-Related Accidents and How to Avoid Them

While accidents such as the one in New Caney may seem uncommon, the truth is that loose tires cause many accidents in Texas each year. In fact, there were several similar incidents in Texas in 2020.

In October, an elderly man was killed on a sidewalk when a hit-and-run accident caused a tire to fly off of a parked vehicle near him, striking him. In June, an accident involving a loose tire flying off of one vehicle and through the windshield of another led to the death of a 40-year-old woman in an event remarkably similar to the one that occurred in New Caney.

In November, another accident involving a tire flying across a highway barrier and into the windshield of a GMC pickup resulted in minor injuries to a Texas driver. In that case, the windshield wasn’t penetrated, likely contributing to the improved outcome.

Even when these accidents aren’t deadly, they can still be extremely dangerous. Flying tires, as Fleet Maintenance puts it, essentially act like 200-pound unguided missiles.

In half of these cases, the loose tires involved came from vehicles involved in a separate collision. However, there are still many instances when tires fly off of vehicles for other reasons. Luckily, there are steps you can take to avoid these situations.

Below, you can check out Lapeze & Johns’ guide to avoiding loose-tire accidents in Texas. Download our tips and share them with friends to help them stay safe, too.

If you’ve been involved in a loose-tire accident in Texas, contact the Houston car accident attorneys of Lapeze and Johns, PLLC, to discover your legal options.

Source : KHOU11

 

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