An Ontario Driver Is 'Lucky To Be Alive' After A Truck's Wheel Flew Off & Hit His Car

An Ontario driver is "lucky to be alive" after a wheel flew off a transport truck and slammed into his vehicle on Thursday morning.

According to OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, the incident occurred on the westbound lanes of Highway 401 near Highway 427 after one of the truck's wheels became separated and flew off an overpass onto the 401 below.

The side of the victim's vehicle was significantly damaged upon impact. However, the driver escaped without any injuries.

Schmidt later spoke to the motorist, whom he claimed was "lucky to be alive," in a clip shared via Twitter.

"I just saw it at the last second," the driver, identified as Mark, says in the video. "And what I did is I went from the second lane over here, and I made sure no one was in the right lane really, really fast, and I just moved over just in time."

"It plowed into the side of me instead of my front windshield," he adds.

In a follow-up video, Schmidt explains that the incident was caused by a bearing failure, which he claims resulted from a lack of vehicle maintenance.

The OPP officer is reminding drivers of the importance of double-checking their wheels, especially as the province enters the cold season.

"Check those wheel fasteners if you had them changed recently because of a brake job or because of the seasonal tire change," Schmidt says. "Check your wheel nuts and make sure they're properly torqued and tightened down and they're not going to fail."

"This could have been deadly," he concludes.