The tractor trailer that lost an entire wheel assembly while driving down Interstate 40 in Oklahoma on Monday has been found in Texas more than 150 miles away from the crash site.
The accident happened on October 29th in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at around 4:45 a.m.
Police say that the tanker truck hauling gasoline, driven by 45-year-old Shannon Aaron Fast, was traveling along Interstate 40 between South Meridian Avenue and South MacArthur Boulevard when it lost the wheel.
We’re working to gather more details on this fatal wreck on I-40 and Meridian. This is on the EB lane. OHP says 4 vehicles are involved. We noticed a car flipped over off the highway at MacArthur and I-40. The fatal accident is at Meridian. Lanes are still open. pic.twitter.com/sGQKVqTtje
— ShardaagrayKOKH (@FOX25Shardaa) October 29, 2018
Fast, who later told police that he “did not notice the wheels were missing” until he was miles away, then continued driving but the wheel stayed behind, apparently bouncing along the highway before striking and killing a woman in a pickup, as well as damaging two other vehicles, including a semi truck, and causing another car to overturn.
The 33-year-old driver of the pickup truck, Kasey Jill Morse, was found dead in her truck on the eastbound shoulder of I-40 at around 4:45 a.m. None of the other motorists involved suffered life-threatening injuries, though their vehicles were seriously damaged, reported The Oklahoman.
Police then began searching for the truck driver who lost the wheel but had little to go on until they received a tip from a repair shop in Gainesville, Texas, approximately 150 miles away from the crash scene, stating that they were replacing a wheel on a semi truck that matched what officers were looking for.
Police have since located Fast and contacted the trucking company and are currently investigating the incident, stating that they’re not sure whether the lost wheel is a case of tampering or neglecting truck maintenance.
