VIDEO: Woman thought ‘I’m going to die’ after errant tire crashed through her windshield on Highway 401 in Mississauga

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Published March 31, 2021 at 5:39 pm

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A woman feels lucky to be alive after her vehicle was struck by a “bouncing tire” on Highway 401 in Mississauga.

The incident, which occurred Tuesday morning on the westbound lanes of Highway 401 just pass Renforth Road, left the woman visually shooken up after an errant tire off a vehicle travelling in the eastbound lanes and opposite direction crashed through the windshield of her SUV.

The driver appeared to escape with only minor injuries.

“I was just driving down the 401 and in a split second I saw a tire,” said Lisa, whose first name was only given in the video on Twitter provided by OPP Highway Safety Division. “I believe I saw it bounce once, I could be incorrect. I saw it bounce extremely high and it was coming down right at my windshield.”

Lisa says she tried to all she could to prevent an accident. There simply was no time to react, the tire was just there.

“I, as quickly as I could, took a look to see if there was anywhere that I could go to escape this tire and not cause injury or accident to anyone else,” she said, before getting emotional.

“I looked back and thought, ‘This is it, I’m going to die and this is the end.'”

An OPP Highway Safety Division officer explained Lisa had no time to react before the tire came crashing down onto her windshield and caused “incredible damage.”

“The driver of this vehicle had less than a second to see what was coming and had no opportunity to react,” the officer on the scene said has he showed on video the damage done to the SUV. “She is lucky to be alive to say the least.

“Had that wheel been a few inches over it would be a completely different story right now.”

One of the issues the OPP Highway Safety Division say they will be looking to clear up is whether the road incident was a result of an errant wheel or not.

“If you by chance have recently changed your vehicles tires from winter to summer tires, you certainly need to pay attention and make sure the wheels are properly installed,” he said.

This is normally the time that drivers are changing from winter tires to summer tires or having their tires rotated.

“This is a reminder we see a spike in wheel separations in the fall season and the summer season as drivers are switching from their summer tires to winter tires and winter tires back to summers,” he added.  

As a result of the incident, there were delays in both directions of the 401.

“I thank God I’m alive and I’m thankful for the people who stopped and gave me support and assistance,” Lisa said. 

OPP PHOTO

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