Texas Mom Killed By Runaway Tire Is Latest Example of Unpredictable Accident With Tragic Consequences

Tires falling off vehicles can become projectiles and leave a path of devastation, even death, in their wake.

A beloved mother was killed instantly when a runaway tire struck her car windshield on a Texas highway. Carol Hardy, 52, was driving her 17-year-old son home from a baseball game when the wheel of a Dodge pickup truck suddenly flew off and hit the window. Her son, who was asleep in the front seat, escaped with a hand injury.

It’s the latest example of an ongoing, unpredictable type of accident with tragic consequences. Tires falling off vehicles can become projectiles and leave a path of devastation, even death, in their wake.

Inside Edition spoke to accident reconstruction expert Mike Markushewski at ARCCA to see if there is any way to avoid catastrophe if you see something like a tire coming toward you on the highway.

“There’s very little that the driver can do. When a projectile like that, a loose piece of debris on the highway, comes into your windshield, there’s not much that any occupant can do, other than make sure that they’re wearing their seatbelts.”

Now Hardy's family is left bereft, pondering a future without her.

“She adored my kids. We’ve been together for 33 years. She was awesome. She would do anything in this world for anybody, especially the kids,” her husband Ron said.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family to help cover funeral costs and hospital bills.

RELATED STORIES

Latest News