56. Florida Highway Patrol: Daytona tractor-trailer driver unhurt in freak mishap that kills St. Johns motorist

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A Ponte Vedra man man was killed on the late afternoon of Sept. 19, after a wheel flew off a tractor-trailer and bounced across the median of Interstate 95, before crashing through his windshield and causing him to wreck, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Here's a synopsis of what happened in the 5 p.m. fatality as described by Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Dylan Bryan: The tractor-trailer, driven by 43-year-old Michael Hunter of Daytona Beach, was southbound on I-95 when the right wheel assembly separated from its rear axle. 

The wheel assembly traveled southeast along the interstate, striking the concrete barrier and becoming airborne. The wheel then crashed through the windshield of 27-year-old Michael Harper's car oncoming car causing him to crash.  

Harper was transported to Flagler Hospital where he died a short time later. 

Here's a synopsis of what happened in the 5 p.m. fatality as described by Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Dylan Bryan: The tractor-trailer, driven by 43-year-old Michael Hunter of Daytona Beach, was southbound on I-95 when the right wheel assembly separated from its rear axle. The wheel assembly traveled southeast along the interstate, striking the concrete barrier and becoming airborne. The wheel then crashed through the windshield of 27-year-old Michael Harper's car oncoming car causing him to crash.  Harper was transported to Flagler Hospital where he died a short time later. 

The freak fatal accident comes in at No. 56 in the HeadlineSurfer.com countdown of the top 100 stories of 2014.

 

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Posted Mon, 2015-04-27 09:47