Friday, April 28, 2006

A Freak Happening

On my way home from work today I’m stopped at a red light at an intersection between 2nd street and highway 37. Both streets are always very busy, and on Friday afternoon just after 5 o’clock, they are crammed with traffic.

So, there I am waiting at the red light amongst all the other saps trying to get home for the weekend, when out of nowhere this big, fat tire comes flying out of the sky. It was a good twenty feet in the air at it’s peak and came crashing down right onto the back windshield of this little silver car.

SMASH!

The window went out with an explosion of shattered glass and panic. The tire then leaped back into the air, crashing down onto the trunk of the next car then rolled across the rest of the road resting at a curb.

Looking around I couldn’t see any car crash or anything else that would indicate where the tire came from. It wasn’t like there was some wheeless auto lined up on the exit ramp, or a big truck hauling tires. Absolutely nothing around that could have lost a tire.

The lady in the car was unhurt and pulled to the side of the road. The rest of us drove off quietly, stunned into silence at the sheer oddity of it all.

14 comments:

JS said...

this post left me laughing...

thats it? no answers? no explanation? You cant leave me like this!!!

Mat Brewster said...

That's all there is. I have no bloody idea where the tire came from.

There was the shock of it happening, then looking around to see how it happened, then the wondering if the lady was ok (who was obviously ok because she drove to the curb with a 'what the crap do I do now' face) then the excitement of seeing something so unusual

JS said...

i now keep my dig camera with me at all times for such an event... you should follow suit.

bigsip said...

Something similar happened to some folks who go to church where my Dad preaches.

They live right off a major highway and have vehicles pass all the time. One night about 2 AM while they were dead asleep, a tire crashed through the front of their house!

Even worse, the tire was extremely hot and melted all over their living room, smashed their furniture, and set their curtains on fire, almost burning down their house.

They had no idea where it came from, but later discovered that it was a diesel truck tire that had given out and come off the back axel of a truck.

Those trucks lose tires like that all the time. That's why you see so many whole or shredded tires off the interstate.

Maybe this happened in your situation, Brew.

JS said...

Perhaps the mysterious flying tires and my UFO sighting are related...

bigsip said...

Yeah, the ISS is dumping tires from space...

JS said...

You laugh, but I think there may be something to that...

mullinz8 said...

That’s pretty freakish!

How traumatic for that poor lady. What if someone had been in the back seat and showered with glass. Most modern car have special glass that keeps it from shattering but still it’s sharp enough to cut someone up.

When you began the story you were in the classic superhero eye witness situation. You saw the potential chaos heading your direction and then! Sadly it stopped, but in another time and place you could have seen hero’s swooping through the air or robots being blown into pieces, perhaps even a giant lizard or ape rampaging through the streets creating a wake of destruction in their path.

JS said...

He could have pulled a Mullins and just made up the rest of the story when he saw his friends were disappointed at the lack-luster ending.

I think I am going to name our first child (assuming it is a girl) after my current word verification... Odhhvia

bigsip said...

COOL name! Very similar to Olivia (my Mom's name), which was the name we would have used had our new one been a girl.

BTW, it's free for use now since we're having Noah (which btw means "Peace" just like Olivia!).

JS said...

I am sorry, i still love this post. Very award-worthy for the 2006 awards. Had you had a real photo with it youd win hands-down for best blog with photos.

Mat Brewster said...

I usually do carry a camera in my wife's car. But I only travel to work in mine anymore, and that's 1.5 miles away. Usually there isn't anything to photograph.

I thought about adding a web picture, but that seemed to cheapen it a bit.

JS said...

cheap it would be. wise move my friend

bigsip said...

It would intrigue me more if I hadn't heard similar stories before.

But, it's still kind of weird.

Vehicles lose tires frequently and once they come off, they can travel over long distances before coming to a stop. In this case, the tire came to a stop on that car.