Two people have been hospitalized after an airborne truck tire smashed into the windscreen of an SUV traveling on a Pennsylvania highway, per reports.
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On Monday, September 15, an SUV carrying three was struck by a tire that had flung off a pickup truck traveling southbound on Interstate 476. The SUV was driving north in Whitpain Township, Montgomery County, before the accident, per NBC10 Philadelphia.
The tire soared through the air before tragically smashing through the windshield of the SUV at 1:30 p.m. local time.
6abc Philadelphia further reported that although no one died in the accident, the front passenger sustained serious damage, with the rear passenger receiving a light head injury from the impact.
However, the driver has been reported as unharmed in the accident.
The front passenger was airlifted to Jefferson Abington Hospital with critical injuries. The other passenger was airlifted to Temple Hospital to treat their head injury.
The pickup truck that lost its wheel was reportedly seen pulled up on the highway, its driver’s side wheel gone.
Accident Caused Traffic To Back Up For Miles
The accident caused I-476 to be closed for a couple of hours, and drivers could do nothing but wait. The standstill in traffic reportedly had people worried they’d run out of gas.
Johnny Archer, of NBC10, spoke to those stuck in the traffic, which he described as “quite an ordeal.”
One reported as feeling “trapped on the highway.”
With no other exits and no information, miles of vehicles simply had to sit and wait. When police reopened the road, traffic was able to crawl out and clear up. Not long after the road reopened did the traffic clear up.
Connecticut witness Lea Agbomson told 6abc, “We saw fire trucks, we figured it was an accident. But once the helicopters came, it kind of felt like they were going to transport people. So it was like, okay, this is pretty bad.”
“We can’t really go anywhere. Pacing back and forth. Staying in the car to cool down, keeping busy one way or the other,” she continued.
The immediate state of the injured passengers are currently unknown.