A driver’s nightmare comes true

VERNON – It’s amazing no one was hurt after a tire from a pick-up truck came loose, shot across Highway 97 south of Vernon and smashed into a car travelling in the opposite direction.

The crash happened Tuesday at around 7:40 a.m. on the highway near Bailey Road.

The 37-year-old Coldstream man behind the wheel of the truck told police he was southbound when his left rear tire came off.

The driver of the northbound car, a 26-year-old man from Lake Country, and his passenger, a man from Kelowna, weren’t hurt. The driver of the pick-up and his Vernon passenger walked away from the crash unscathed as well.

The car had serious damage to the front end and the truck had some minor damage to the brake drum, which dragged along the road until the vehicle came to a stop.

Both vehicles had to be towed.

It turns out the driver of the truck had recently changed his tires.

“This is a good reminder that when you have your tires changed to have them torqued properly, and have them rechecked within the first 100 to 150 kilometers of driving,” Vernon RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said.

The truck driver was issued a ticket for having a defective vehicle.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.