Tire mishap blamed for deadly crash
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A woman was killed Tuesday evening when her SUV was hit by a flying tire on southbound Highway 99 near the California Avenue off-ramp.
The accident happened just after 7:30 p.m.
A trailer being hauled by a pickup lost a wheel in the northbound lanes of Highway 99, said California Highway Patrol Sgt. Marvin Casey.
"The trailer wheel jumped the center divider and collided with this blue Jeep. We believe (the tire) hit the driver, and then the driver crashed into the guardrail," Casey said.
The Jeep's driver was identified by the coroner's office as 40-year-old Souraya Sourayanezhad, of Pasadena. Her parents were riding in the jeep and suffered major injuries.
Casey said the pickup driver had pulled off the freeway to deal with the tire and officers were able to contact and interview him when they figured out what had happened.
That's not just a tire, you can see the lug nuts are still holding the rim and tire to the brake drum and hub assembly. Looks like an outer bearing failure or the keeper came off the end of the axle and let the retaining nut work loose. Nasty projectile in any case.