Witnessing the Kia Soul’s unbelievable launch into the sky in this footage left me in awe. A Tesla owner documented what might be one of the most astounding incidents I’ve ever witnessed, where a loose wheel from a passing truck collided with the Kia at high speed, propelling the unfortunate compact crossover and its driver into space. Miraculously, the unwitting astronaut emerged unscathed from the crash landing.
Cruising through a highway near Los Angeles, California, the Tesla driver’s dashcam captured the unexpected event. Initially, everything appeared normal as the Kia Soul approached a raised and widened Chevy Silverado. However, as the Kia entered the blind spot of the Silverado, the front wheel on the driver’s side of the truck suddenly detached and landed directly in the Kia’s path, creating an incredibly unfortunate wheel separation mishap. The timing was so devastatingly perfect that it seemed as if the Chevy had activated a Mario Kart-like power-up.
Upon impact with the upright wheel at highway velocity, the tire’s trajectory seemed to assist the Kia’s upward movement, leading the small Soul to roll over it and propel into the air. Although it’s challenging to estimate the height the Kia reached, it appeared to exceed double the Silverado’s height. Considering a standard Silverado is just over six feet tall and the lifted version, the Kia likely soared almost 12 feet before crashing onto its roof. To add insult to injury, the same detached wheel returned, rolling towards the overturned Kia.
Fortunately, as per the Tesla driver (Twitter user Anoop_Khatra) who shared the video, the Kia’s driver emerged unharmed, a truly astonishing outcome.
The abrupt detachment of the Silverado’s wheel remains a mystery, hinting at a probable failure in the wheel spacer/lug nut system. While it’s fortunate that no injuries occurred, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of correct execution of aftermarket modifications to prevent grave consequences.
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