- Police in Georgia responded to a report of a heavily damaged vehicle on I-285.
- Officers discovered a Mercedes crossover with its roof crushed in.
- Investigators determined the damage was caused by a loose tire on the highway.
It’s easy to forget how much random stuff is flying around on the highway, until a rogue tire comes crashing down like an anvil in a cartoon. On a Monday morning commute, one driver got the fright of their life when a loose tire smashed into their car.
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The top of their Mercedes SUV crumpled, and the damage left a gigantic hole in the roof. While the driver escaped without injury, the SUV is likely a goner. This is the second report of this type in the last two months.
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According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the incident happened at around 6 a.m. Monday morning. A loose tire from the eastbound side of I-285 bounced over the median and smashed into a Mercedes. Cameras at the scene showed the car crippled in the left lane as traffic backed up behind it.
According to 11 Alive, the accident report indicates that the driver suffered minor cuts, but declined to go to the hospital. Officers who responded to the crash didn’t find a vehicle that was missing a wheel and tire, so it’s plausible that it came off a trailer.
Authorities estimated the combined weight of the wheel and tire at 150 pounds, which seems like an overshot. Judging by the size visible in the footage, it’s likely a lot less than that, unless someone’s out there towing aircraft wheels.
In any case, it’s clear that the Mercedes isn’t going to be back on the road anytime soon. Miraculously, the tire seems to have missed the hood entirely, but with the amount of roof damage, it’ll likely end up in a scrap yard. Who knows? Maybe it could turn into a cool convertible version at the hands of a famous YouTuber.
Sadly, this sort of thing isn’t a super-rare occurrence either. Last month, a similar incident saw a loose tire in Connecticut smash into a traveler. In that case, the tire hit the car more directly on the front bumper, destroyed the windshield, and totaled the vehicle. Thankfully, that driver was also okay after the accident.
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