An Ontario Provincial Police officer narrowly escaped serious injury when a marked pickup truck was struck by a flying wheel Thursday morning.
The incident occurred in heavy traffic on Highway 401, west of Trafalgar Road, at about 7:30 a.m.
OPP spokesman Sgt. Dave Woodford said the wheel came off a westbound van, skipped across the road and struck the eastbound police truck.
The officer saw the wheel flying in his direction and ducked just before it hit the vehicle, Woodford said.
When it smashed into the truck, the wheel shattered the driver’s side window and tore off the side mirror.
Police told CP24's Cam Woolley the van's wheel was an old, rusty spare that was installed Wednesday.
The wheel wasn't tight and the fasteners fell off as the man was driving, police said.
The van also has problems with its steering, suspension and brakes, said police, who are charging the van's driver with an "unsafe vehicle" offence.
At least two deaths in similar incidents
At least two people have been killed in similar incidents in southern Ontario in the last 10 months.
Last May, a 36-year-old Innisfil man was killed when his van was struck by a tire that came off a sport utility vehicle on Highway 400 in Barrie.
The man was with his wife and daughter when the tire caved in part of the van's roof and windshield.
The man's wife and daughter, and the driver of the other vehicle were not injured.
Last December, a 54-year-old Hamilton woman was killed when a tire came off a tractor-trailer and struck her car on the QEW near the Burlington Skyway.
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