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Last October 15 @bjmayberry and I were in Clarence, the 1948 panel truck in my avatar. Eastbound on I-64 somewhere in the east half of Illinois traveling at 70 mph a trailer wheel came flying across the median (also going probably 70 mph) and hit us head-on. Could have been catastrophic, but BJ and I are both fine. The hood flew up and caused some consternation for a few seconds but as we slowed down it came back down. The adrenalin had us shaking for a while but we incurred no injuries. Entire front clip is toast. Radiator and fan also as well as several other small items like the trans cooler lines, etc.
Illinois state police arrived about 45 minutes later and a rollback arrived about an hour after him. BJ and I are both at our respective homes.
Clarence is in my shop and probably down for the winter.
The wheel/tire laying on the shop floor is what hit us. I doubt that the owner can be identified from the tire serial number but it's worth a shot.
The above is a retelling of my 10/15/25 post regarding Clarence damage.
The following pix were taken the next day in my shop here in central Missouri. The wheel laying on the ground is what hit us.
Here is today's update:
Insurance took 3 months to finally agree on payment. It's been at a body shop since January. Here is what it looked like today. Karl is putting it totally together and then going to blow it apart for paint. Some parts are original 48-50 Ford sheet metal but hood and fenders are new reproduction. It shouldn't be too long now.
b-t-w; pay no attention to the two white wheels leaned up against it.
b-t-w-2; the (soft) aluminum radiator that used to be in it got pushed into the A/C compressor hard enough to break the housing. The water pump shaft was also bent.
b-t-w-3; Karl deemed it necessary to repaint the entire truck so the light blue you see is the Washington Blue paint after first sanding.
New Vintage Air parts and aluminum radiator are supposed to arrive any day now.
Good to see the truck will be back whole. What was the insurance company's reaction that there was no bumper or designed protection for the truck? Was it a factor or did your insurance payments factor the no bumper as part of the policy?
Looks like Karl is making good progress. Does your insurance cover painting the whole truck? Can't wait to see it completed.
Did the police ever find out who lost the wheel? What vehicle did it belong to? Must have been a dually or a trailer. The wheel looks too small to come from a semi truck.
Did the police ever find out who lost the wheel? What vehicle did it belong to? Must have been a dually or a trailer. The wheel looks too small to come from a semi truck.
The 2nd semi driver, the guy that recovered the wheel, said a truck and trailer, was pulled off on the shoulder, just beyond our view. The first Semi driver said it was a trailer tire off a dually lowboy type trailer. Since it took the Highway Patrol well over an hour to get to us the guy that lost the wheel had already made an exit.
Last edited by bjmayberry2; Mar 11, 2026 at 10:12 AM.
The 2nd semi driver, the guy that recovered the wheel, said a truck and trailer, was pulled off on the shoulder, just beyond our view. The first Semi driver said it was a trailer tire off a dually lowboy type trailer. Since it took the Highway Patrol well over an hour to get to us the guy that lost the wheel had already made an exit.
That is the kind of experience nightmares are made of! Thank God you're both okay, although at the time pretty shook up to say the least. Best wishes for a full recovery for Clarence. So glad you guys weren't hurt. A testimony to how tough these old trucks are.
Wow! That could have been a heck of a lot worse. Its a wonder you aren't dead.
Pretty devastating damage but it looks likes it going back together and will be whole once again.
Again, I'm very glad there were no major injuries!
Wow! That could have been a heck of a lot worse. Its a wonder you aren't dead.
Pretty devastating damage but it looks likes it going back together and will be whole once again.
Again, I'm very glad there were no major injuries!
Bobby
Bobby,
I saw the tire/wheel for only a tiny fraction of a second before it hit us. When I first saw it it was at about eye level but obviously was on its way downward because mere hundredths of a second later it hit us at about ground level. Had we hit it when it was still that high one of both of us would probably have gone to the ICU or morgue.
I thank God every day for taking care of me. That day was certainly an example of Providential Care.
Yeah, it's a bummer, and possibly an expensive bummer, but neither of us were even scratched. It's easy to fix an old truck but very hard to heal a human body.
Soon all will be well with Clarence and we're planning to be in Dewey, Oklahoma, the first weekend in May for a car show we go to most years. Clarence and I have had many wonderful experiences in the 53 years that I've owned him and I fully expect to have many more.
Thank you one and all for your thoughts and comments.
I still cannot believe that happened to you. I'm glad you're getting it fixed. And I'm certainly glad you guys got a "good bounce" with that wheel coming at you. Could have been much worse.I'm going to have another TS soon. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it this coming fall, but maybe next year.
One time about 15+ years ago I was hanging at my brothers place who lives on a 40mph 4 lane street, busy but not insane. We were just about to go inside because they were done smoking and I heard this pretty noticeable and "odd" hollow clunk and a rolling bounce. I noticed a little honda accord come to a stop and I couldn't imagine what it was but for some reason my eyes didn't catch movement--I think I was too focused on the car......but I heard a mysterious noise....to this day I'm surprised my brain couldn't see the tire and pair it with the "mysterious noise".
After half second I gave up and went inside and about 1-3 seconds later the weird hollow "tube sound" bouncing and rolling came up his steps and WHAM!!!
The tire hit exactly his front door, damaged the door lock striker but didn't pound the door open and didn't hurt the door(solid wood 100 year old door) Right where we were standing for a cig about 15 seconds earlier. Crazy stuff.
Chased the lady down to tell her to fix our door and she abandoned the car, ran three blocks away and yelled at us she had no idea what we're talking about lol
Last edited by mOROTBREATH; Mar 12, 2026 at 08:45 PM.
I am glad nobody was hurt in the accident. It is unfortunate that the person who was responsible was not held accountable.
Decades ago I saw a car traveling down a major arterial road, lose its left rear tire, wheel and hub. The car traveled a short distance and then pulled over.
The lost wheel followed the car, then turned right, and ran into the left side of the car. The excess interior weight caused the tire to turn to the right as it slowed down. The only damage was the car that lost the wheel.
