Runaway tire hits rig on I-75, hurting driver

9/13/2003

A tractor-trailer driver from Texas was hurt yesterday when a tire came off an oncoming semi, crossed the median, and hit the Texas man's rig, causing him to lose control on southbound I-75 south of Roachton Road in Perrysburg Township.

William Henderson, Jr., 52, of Tyler, Texas, was flown to Medical College of Ohio Hospitals. His passenger, Mary Groover, 54, also of Tyler, had to be extricated from the sleeping compartment. Mr. Henderson's condition was not available.

He was hauling more than 40,000 pounds of sugar when a northbound semi driven by Delton Fields, 47, of Mineral Wells, W.Va., lost its right rear wheels and tires about 7:30 a.m., the Ohio Highway Patrol said. Mr. Fields was charged with operating an unsafe vehicle, troopers said.