A driver is lucky to be alive after a tire smashed into her windshield.
It happened in the 401 westbound express lanes just past Renforth Drive near Toronto yesterday as the tire separated from a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.
OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt says if the wheel had hit just a few inches over the story may be completely different.
The driver, identified as Lisa, was able to escape with only minor injuries.
"In a split second I saw a tire - 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. I, as quickly as I could, took a look to see if there was anywhere I could go to escape this tire and not cause injury or accident to anyone else and it just - I looked back and thought 'This is it. I'm going to die and this is the end.'"
Schmidt says the tires on the other vehicle had been changed at a garage last week and all three of the other wheels were also loose.
Officers report an increase in these kinds of incidents as drivers take off their winter tires.
Driver lucky to be alive after a vehicle lost wheel and bounced into oncoming traffic https://t.co/i2AEFq1CYL
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) March 30, 2021