The Potential Damage a Stray Tire Can Inflict If It Strikes Your Vehicle | Carscoops

      A woman in Connecticut was hurt when a loose tire hit her car's windshield on the highway.

      The tire collided with her vehicle, causing significant damage to the windshield and roof.

      The fire department had to rescue her from the car before she was taken to the hospital.

      The driver suffered traumatic injuries, but the situation could have been even more catastrophic.

      There is no doubt that public roads can be dangerous. Typically, the threat comes from other drivers. However, encountering a loose tire as a serious safety risk is not something most people anticipate. Yet, that’s precisely what occurred to a woman in Connecticut last week.

      Around 8:30 a.m., she was traveling along Interstate 95 when, unexpectedly, a tire flew over the median and crashed into her vehicle. Although the exact speed at which she was driving is unknown, the damage was devastating. The tire struck her windshield, creating cracks that radiated in multiple directions.

      The Milford Fire Department had to work to free her from the car, which had its roof shattered into several pieces. Jason Dombrowski, the public information officer for the Milford FD, informed Fox 61 that the woman experienced “traumatic injuries.” She was transported to the hospital for further assessment. As for her car, it is clear that it has seen its last journey on public roads.

      To provide some context, most alloy wheels, such as the one shown in a photo posted by the Milford FD, weigh between 20 and 30 lbs. When you include the tire, which can weigh another 20 to 30 lbs, we're looking at a projectile weighing 40 to 60 lbs moving toward a car at highway speeds.

      A 60-pound tire traveling at 50 to 60 mph possesses approximately 6,800 to 9,800 joules of kinetic energy. While that energy level may not equate to that of a moving vehicle, it is still a substantial amount of force—more than enough to inflict serious damage. This is far from an innocuous piece of rubber bouncing around; the impact can certainly result in significant injury, as demonstrated in this case.

      Evidently, the driver was fortunate that the outcome wasn’t even worse. Authorities are still looking into how the tire became dislodged and caused such destruction.

      Photos by Milford CT Fire Department.