Loose set of tires flies through window of semi, killing truck driver, Ohio police say

A semi driver was killed on Tuesday, Jan. 17, when a loose set of tires struck his truck, Ohio authorities say.

The fatal crash happened around 1:50 p.m. on Interstate 280 in Lake Township, about 10 miles southeast of Toledo. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said a semi truck “lost a set of dual tires off of one of its axles.”

The tires then went through the median, striking a separate semi going the opposite direction, officials said.

Footage from WTVG shows the front window of the second semi was shattered. Its driver, 69-year-old Daniel Gardner of Bad Axe, Michigan, was struck by the tires and died at the scene, WTOL reported.

“It’s not common, but it does happen,” Jordan Schwochow of the Ohio State Highway Patrol told WTVG. “It just goes to show the importance that these commercial vehicle drivers need to do the pre-trip check and make sure everything is in good working order before they get on the road.”

Authorities said the driver of the semi that lost its tires kept driving after the collision. The truck and its driver were found at a truck stop in the area Tuesday evening, Highway Patrol officers said.

He was identified by the Bowling Green Independent News as a 49-year-old from Americus, Kansas. Charges have not been filed.

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