News

Jun 19, 2023

Loose tire sends car flipping in air on California freeway

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission. A dashboard video

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

A dashboard video captured the heart-stopping moment a vehicle was sent spinning in the air after being struck by a tire that had come off a pickup truck during a freak accident on a busy California freeway.

The wild scene was recorded by a Tesla dashcam last Thursday on the 118 Freeway in Chatsworth and resembled a chase sequence straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster.

The video shows a dark-colored Kia Soul hatchback approaching a white Chevy Silverado pickup truck traveling in the middle lane.

Moments later, the Chevy truck's front left wheel comes flying off the axle and careens directly into the path of the unsuspecting Kia, sending it flipping in mid-air before it comes crashing down.

Fortunately for the driver, the vehicle landed right side up on its wheels.

The impact scattered large chunks of debris from the badly damaged Kia across multiple freeway lanes.

The truck's detached wheel that caused all the havoc continued rolling out of control before smashing into the ill-fated Kia again, before finally coming to a rest.

Incredibly, the California Highway Patrol said the sole occupant of the mangled Kia Soul suffered only minor injuries, and no one else was hurt, reported the station ABC 7.

Anoop Khatra, the driver of the Tesla who recorded the jaw-dropping video, described the accident in a tweet as "the most INSANE car crash."

According to officials, it appears a lug nut on the pickup truck sheared off for an unknown reason, causing the tire to detach from the wheel hub.