The Franklin County Coroner’s Office has identified the driver who was killed on Interstate 70 after a semi-truck tire bounced into the eastbound lanes and triggered a multi-vehicle crash.
Kwaku Nyamekye, 58, was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m. June 19 at the scene near mile marker 102 on I-70 east, about a mile from the I-71 interchange, police said.
The crash occurred around 4:11 p.m. after the left rear trailer tire of a westbound Freightliner semi-truck broke free from the brake drum and bounced over the concrete barrier and into the eastbound lanes of I-70 near the Miller and Kelton avenues exits in Columbus. The tire struck a Ford Taurus driven by Nyamekye, a gray GMC Terrain and a white Hyundai Tucson, according to the Columbus police Accident Investigation Unit.
Nyamekye’s Taurus crashed into the concrete barrier after being hit by the tire, then the car careened back across the eastbound lanes before coming to a stop pointing south toward the eastbound shoulder. The drivers and sole occupants of the semi-truck, the GMC and the Hyundai were not injured.
There are between 750 and 1,050 crashes caused by a tire falling off of a truck, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Anyone with knowledge of the involved vehicle or driver is asked to contact the AIU at (614) 645-4767. Persons wishing to remain anonymous may contact Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-8477.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Victim in fatal I‑70 crash involving bouncing truck tire identified
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
