Runaway truck tire chased down by police officer

ERJ staff report (BC)

Newark, New Jersey – A runaway tire heading towards idling cars in Port Newark was diverted by police, averting a potential collision, Tomás Dinges of the Star-Ledger reports officials to have said.

At about 11am on 31 July, a police officer on patrol saw a tractor-trailer tire rolling in the opposite direction, a spokesman from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.

The officer made a U-turn and accelerated at least a quarter-mile to catch up to the tire, which he said was moving at about 48km/h.

The tire was headed towards a line of passenger cars at a traffic light.

With the rolling tire about two car-lengths from the stopped cars, the officer was able to wedge the tire up against a guardrail with his vehicle.

The tire is reported to have been propelled off an axle on a moving tractor-trailer after an inside tire exploded.

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Full report from nj.com