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Loose Wheel Sends Kia Soul Flying, Proves How Crazy Accidents Can Be

We often say we can only believe something that is out of the charts when we see it unfolding with our own eyes. Ironically, just after watching that thing, we often say: “I can’t believe it.” An accident filmed and shared by a Tesla driver would fit this description perfectly. It made a Kia Soul ascend and land on a busy highway, the 118 freeway in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. The way it all happened almost deserves to be called an accident.
A loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen lately 15 photos
Photo: Anoop Khatra/Twitter
A loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen latelyA loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen lately
Several traffic safety specialists argue that calling a crash an accident is a way to say it was nobody’s fault. Sometimes, there is clearly someone who does something stupid and puts their lives and others in danger. In the footage tweeted below by Anoop Khatra, that did not happen. It was a perfectly normal ride until the front left wheel of a widened Chevrolet Silverado decided it was no longer comfortable being in the truck’s front axle.

The video shows the wheel detaches and gets immediately in front of the Kia, which is catapulted after rolling over the Silverado’s rebel component. The flying Soul goes high enough to surpass the Silverado’s height, but it lands on its hood, rolling over and eventually stopping with its wheels on the ground. To add insult to injury, the rogue wheel keeps spinning, hitting the back of the destroyed Soul and finally resting beside it. ABC7 said sheared-off lug nuts apparently made the wheel detach from the truck, but there is no official word yet on what caused the sudden separation.

A loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen lately
Photo: Anoop Khatra/Twitter
Khatra managed to film the whole thing because of the dashcam in his Tesla. He shared the footage on Twitter to say Autopilot swerved from the tire, which is as unbelievable as the accident itself. It is almost impossible to conceive that any driver – as distracted as they might be – would not grab the steering wheel hard and brake instantly after witnessing such a wreck. If he didn’t, Khatra’s report is more concerning than reassuring. The BEV could have hit the Kia and killed its occupants. According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the Soul driver suffered only minor injuries – which is almost a miracle given what we could see.

Whether Autopilot played any role in this only the driver and Tesla know. The good news is that it does not make any difference to what this event teaches: that roads are unpredictable and anything can happen. This is one of those rare situations in which driving defensively would not have helped the Kia Soul driver: they would not have been able to anticipate a tire would (very briefly) give them wings. On the other hand, that does not mean some precautions would not have helped.

A loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen lately
Photo: Anoop Khatra/Twitter
The Chevrolet Silverado went to the fourth lane for no apparent reason: there was no one on the third lane that the truck driver could have needed to overcome. If it were on the third or even on the second lane, the truck would get faster to the roadside, and the rogue wheel would be more visible to other drivers. However, who would imagine their front left wheel would wave goodbye in the middle of a freeway?

The Kia Soul was on the fifth lane, moving much faster than most other road users. There is no way to determine its speed, but it may be the case that if it were driving slower, its driver would have had more time to react. Although nobody would ever think that a wheel would suddenly run in front of their cars, the vehicle in the nearby lane could do exactly that. However, how many times do we overcome other vehicles on streets, avenues, and highways every day in the same conditions, and nothing more serious happens? Most cars do not have Autopilot, but that does not mean we do have our own autopilots turned on, numbly and unmindfully driving around. Ironically, this case suggests the Tesla software may lead to similar results.

A loose wheel made a Kia Soul ascend in one of the few true accidents to happen lately
Photo: Anoop Khatra/Twitter
Despite all these hypothetical scenarios, the truth is that the whole thing happened so fast it urges us to humbly recognize we can’t control the world around us. It may change so swiftly that there will be moments when we just need to admit we could have done nothing to prevent the outcomes. Depending on how we decide to face that, we can either feel helpless or at peace with whatever occurs. Fortunately, nobody died or was seriously hurt by this accident. If that had been the case, it would have been very challenging to blame anyone – and it would not make that much of a difference anyway. After all, and despite all crashes we hear about every day, accidents happen.



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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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