Before we went to Branson, my mom and Hannah came down to get Oliver on September 19th so they could watch him for me while I was out of town. Mom was supposed to arrive around 1:00 on a Sunday, but she called me about 1:20 and said her tire fell off outside of Cedarville!!!! I rushed there (it was just about 5 miles up the road) and heard the whole story. She'd been driving when, suddenly, her jeep just fell to the ground and sounded like it had exploded. She pulled over, and as she did, she saw her tire roll on by her jeep! She didn't know she'd hit another car until another driver stopped to see if she was okay and to retrieve her tire. The lugs nuts, the rim, eveyrthing was off! The people that stopped were all really nice, and the guy she hit was really kind (at the time). He called the state highway patrol, who came and took statements. The statey was nice too. He said it looked like the people who had put the tire on last didn't tighten the lug nuts well (she got her brakes replaced 2 weeks ago at the dealership she goes to near home). The lugs nuts were gone/shaved off, so there was no putting a spare on.
About an hour later, the tow truck came to tow her to Cedarville, where her jeep sat until this past Sunday, October 10th, to get repaired! She got cited for an unsafe vechicle but there's no points on the license since it wasn't a moving violation. The officer mentioned in the report that it didn't look like the lug nuts had been on tightly.
We had hoped that the insurance and the dealership that did the brake repair would cover the cost since it was their fault. Unfortunately, since she had driven over 1000 miles since the tires had been put back on, the insurance could not prove that the accident was the dealership's fault. They did graciously give Mom a rental for the entire time at no cost.
The other car only had minor damage - the other car's tire went flat when Mom's hit it, and there was a tire burn on their car. He has since opted to sue her insurance for emotional stress on him, his children, and for damage. The insurance doesn't think he will win and told Mom she doesn't need a lawyer, but it's still discouraging that this gentleman has taken this situation to try to benefit from a legitimate accident. She and Hannah were okay; Mom was shaken up but was so thankful no one was hurt. I'm so glad it was near me and not the highway! Miss came down to get them and take them home.
Here's some shots from the experience:
The rim was chipped, and the tire had a big tear in it.
This was how the jeep looked after the tire fell off.
Notice that one lug nut is shorter than the rest? This one got shaved off!
2 comments:
So glad they are safe... That totally stinks about the other guy trying to sue your mom. I hope it's a quick "this is a joke" from a judge and everyone can move on.
I'm certainly glad everything turned out okay with the jeep. It was an experience I don't care to repeat! I'm truly thankful that i was so close to Cedarville. When you got to the accident, I felt a lot better! Thanks for taking care of me. Love you BIG much!
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