A Kentucky teen was killed Sunday after a tire from a passing truck came loose and crashed through her windshield, police say.
Lauren Collins, 18, was driving southbound on I-75 just after midnight July 16 when her vehicle was struck by a tire from a passing truck traveling north, according to a press release from the Boone County Sheriff’s office. Preliminary investigations into the incident have led authorities to believe the tire broke free from a dually pickup truck and rolled out of control before hitting the concrete barrier and striking Collins’ vehicle, the release continued.
Tragic. The preliminary investigation suggests Lauren Collins was driving on I-75 in Kentucky when her car’s windshield was hit by a tire. https://t.co/Sg3sbQA9Vf
— WBRC FOX6 News (@WBRCnews) July 17, 2023
Officials with the Walton Fire Department responded to the scene and successfully extricated Collins from the vehicle. She sustained life-threatening injuries in the incident, according to the press release. First responders transported Collins to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where she later succumbed to her injuries, according to the press release. (RELATED: ‘Terrible, Terrible Tragedy’: Man Allegedly Kills Own Sister, Two Minors In Head-On Collision)
“[P]lease keep our family in your prayers, especially the Collins/Marsh family. My cousin(s) lost their daughter today in a tragic car accident. I have been completely numb all day and just at a loss for words. My heart aches,” Mona Ostendorf wrote on Facebook.
Authorities said they have not yet been able to locate the vehicle that lost its tire on the northbound side of the highway and are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to come forward.