Car crushed by rolling tire

Photo: RCMP

A free wheeling bouncing wheel and tire caused a motor vehicle accident Tuesday morning.

At 7:40 a.m. officers from the Vernon/North Okanagan Detachment were dispatched to a report of an accident on Highway 97 near Bailey Rd. The driver reported that his car was hit by a tire and rim that came off an oncoming pick-up truck. The wheel and tire collided with the front-end of his car.

Officers spoke to the 26-year-old driver from Lake Country and his male passenger from Kelowna. The driver of the truck a 37-year-old Coldstream resident and his passenger, a Vernon resident, all confirmed that the truck was south bound when the left rear tire and wheel came off and rolled into the path of the oncoming car.

"Our officers confirmed that everyone involved in both vehicles were very lucky.  The car's front end was badly damaged. The truck only suffered minor damage to the brake drum as it was dragged along the road before it came to a stop. Both vehicles were towed from the scene," says Gord Molendyk spokesperson for the Vernon and North Okanagan.

The driver of the truck told officers that he had just recently changed his tires. 

Molendyk says, "This is a good reminder that when you have your tires changed to have them torqued properly, and have them rechecked within the first 100 to 150 kilometres of driving."

The driver of the truck was issued a ticket for a defective vehicle.

Photo: RCMP