Technology and Science11 August, 20262 min read
Mechanical Failure Sends Detached Tire Across Interstate 20, Killing Eva Luevano in Texas
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Mechanical failure detached front left tire and wheel from westbound Chevrolet 3500 on I-20. Detached tire crossed median into eastbound traffic, causing fatal crash that killed Eva Luevano.
Runaway Tire Crash
A mechanical failure sent a Chevrolet 3500’s front left tire and wheel separating from the vehicle on Interstate 20 at mile marker 89 in Ward County, Texas, at 6:10 p.m. on Aug. 3, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The detached tire rolled across the center median and into the eastbound lane, where it hit the windshield and roof of a Toyota 4Runner, and the driver of the Toyota, identified as 30-year-old Eva Luevano of Odessa, was transported to Ward County Hospital and pronounced dead.
The crash remains under investigation, with the report noting that officers responded to the scene and that the incident involved the tire crossing the interstate median.
The account ties the fatality directly to the separated wheel, describing how the tire’s path led to the impact on the Toyota 4Runner’s windshield and roof.
Midwest Storms and Power
Severe weather slammed the Midwest Tuesday, spawning tornadoes and causing widespread power outages, with the Associated Press reporting that severe storms cut power to more than half a million people in the Chicago area and northwestern Indiana.
The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down just south of Chicago, and forecasters said a wind gust of 99 mph (159 kph) was recorded in Gary, Indiana.
Lightning struck a prison complex southwest of Cleveland, and the Ohio Department of Corrections said sixteen incarcerated people were hospitalized, including one transported by helicopter, after the victims were injured as they returned from an evening meal at Grafton Reintegration Center.
Meteorologist Scott Baker said the Midwest was on the outer edge of a “ring of fire,” and Javid Jenkins of Homewood, a Chicago suburb, described the outage as “No power. It was very scary. We were down in the basement.”
Aftermath and Ongoing Risk
As of early Wednesday, more than 800,000 customers were still without power, and FOX Weather said the storm threat was expected to return Wednesday after a deadly windstorm raced through the region Tuesday afternoon.
FOX Weather reported that the FOX Forecast Center determined Tuesday’s storms were a derecho and said that, to be classified as a derecho, a storm needs to stretch at least 250 miles long and be at least 60 miles wide.
In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine confirmed one person was killed after emergency responders were unable to reach the individual during a flooding emergency, and the report warned, “This is not something that will end tonight,” as flood dangers persisted.
The Associated Press also said Dayton, Ohio, set a daily rainfall record with 2.07 inches (5.25 cm), shattering a mark set in 1915, and forecasters warned that multiple rounds of rain would cause flood hazards in the Ohio Valley through early Friday.