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Dec 5, 2008 5:48 pm US/Central
Tire Comes Loose From Truck, Strikes Car
ROGERS, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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A man was injured after a tire flew off a dump truck and struck the man's vehicle Friday morning near Rogers, Minn.
CBS
A driver had to be rushed to the hospital Friday after a tire that flew off of passing dump truck hit his car.
It happened Friday morning on Interstate 94 between Rogers and Maple Grove. A medical helicopter was called in to take the man to the hospital.
Police say the man in the accident near Rogers was lucky. When the tire on a big truck falls off at 60 miles an hour and hits a car, the outcome is usually grim.
Last March on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, two tires flew off a garbage truck, hitting a truck and killing the man inside.
There are no actual statistics, but the National Transportation Safety Board estimates about 1,000 such accidents per year. Unlike Friday's accident or the one on I-35W, not all are serious and not all involve big commercial trucks.
Nick Strohbeen has worked for Norm's Tire for more than 10 years. State police confirm what he knows firsthand: Tires from big trucks do more damage than tires from cars.
"I think the likelihood of a tire falling off a large truck is just as likely as a tire coming off a small passenger car or a light truck," said Strohbeen.
The good news is that the odds of having such a crash are pretty low.
"If you obviously know you've lost a wheel, I would think applying brake pressure and trying to slow down would be -- and just try to keep control of the vehicle," he advised.
Prevention is always best. Mechanics suggest having tires checked by a professional at least twice a year.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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