Loose Wheel smashed me on the freeway..help?

Driving down the 405s to Santa Monica two days ago and A wheel comes bouncing down my lane. I assume it was loose in someones bed or not secured spare. It was a 235x85x16 8 lug. Hit me going about 60mph. I tried to avoid it, I evaded it's path but a minivan in front of me clipped it and popped it straight up into the air and it crushed my hood.

As it hit my hood I thought it was coming through my windshield so I leaned down to my right swerving a bit to the right which I think saved me because the majority of the impact was on the pillar/A frame thing that my windshield sits in and surrounds my driver side door.

I had tread marks up my windshield though, So lucky to be a live.

I pulled off and went and retrieved the wheel so it didnt damage/kill someone else.

Damage was, a caved in hood, broken battery tie down, broken fan shroud, and that pillar/A frame piece is dented/scraped up.

My question is How do I fix that A frame/pillar piece? Does it come off, could I pick up one from a salvage yard or something. Would PDR work on it?





This is what I need help repairing

If you look closely you can see the treadmarks on my windhield.


Thanks for any input.

 

insurance for things like this ?

 

The gap looks bigger at the bottom than the top, I hope it's not bent too bad.


I saw a dodge pickup lose its front left tire the other day at a stop light. Truck stopped and tire kept on rolling, and smashed another oncoming car at like 60mph. Scary! Looked like the guy may have not tightened lugs enough.

 

X2, let them worry about it

 

Can't tell with the rubber marks on the A pillar there, how much damage is on it? Side profile pic? If it's anything significant at all you will be looking at major repairs if even possible. The A pillar is a crucial piece of a safe cab and its construction/design, and as such, damaging it can be enough to write off a vehicle (depending on insurance parameters like prior condition, mileage, and valuation). Also, no it is not a bolt on/bolt off piece.

Take it to your insurance bureau and have an adjuster look at the damage, don't screw around with your safety, especially when you just survived a loose tire strike at highway speed.

 

holy FAWK!

 

You are very lucky! This exact same thing killed a very good friend of mine. He was driving his police issue jeep Cherokee and a wheel/rim came right down on top of him through the window.

 

Wow! Glad you weren't hurt in this. Lucky you are. Let the insurance handle it unless you seen what it came off of. Then there insurance would.

 

You're lucky, plenty have been seriously injured or killed. Just do a Google search and you will see. This one happened close to me.

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/7210259-74/police-tire-trailer#axzz3JTJq6GGH

 

Sure makes your @#$hole pucker up. I had to dodge a propane tank off a camper trailer a few years back. The thing looked like a football bouncing down the interstate.

 

Glad you're OK.

I'm gonna second the insurance route. And a call to CalTrans or the CHP might yield some info on where the wheel came from if it hit others and they called it in.

 

damn, that A pillar looks expensive to fix....glad your okay

 

http://youtu.be/bVrZPGOg5Vk



Turn down volume:
http://youtu.be/XhwhRQo71QU

http://youtu.be/lLDedX7xhJ4

 

Same thing happened to my buddies honda civic two months ago, totaled his car.

 

Yikes! First thing I thought of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR7wJEmKds0

 

Yeah you def should go through insurance if you have full coverage

 

If there's some reason you're not filing an insurance claim - I think you're gonna have to do a camoflauge repair on that A pillar.

First, rub out all the black from the tire with polishing compound.

Then - maybe call it a day there.

Otherwise, the next step is sandpaper and bondo. You'll need to repaint after that, obviously.

Pros could replace an A pillar. But unless you've got mad welding and bodywork skillz (in which case, I think you wouldn't be asking us for advice) A pillar replacement is not a DIY repair.

 

Liability only so. This will be all out of pocket. I already replaced the hood for 250 and that was a 15 min job. Its that pillar that scares me. I can weld tig mig stick fcaw etc but don't specialize in delicate work like this.

Don't painless deny removal guys weld rods onto the dent then slide hammer it out? Or should I just sand it down and bondo and it?

I would look into the welding option but I don't own my own equipment. I would imagine this would be a delicate tig job

I contacted the chp they basically told.me to pound sand. Thanks for your support guys

 

Wow, sorry man ... glad you're OK ... that could have been really bad.

So, a little outside the box here. The truck is driveable as is? If so, can you live with it temporarily as it is? Maybe shop around for estimates on having it repaired correctly and professionally, then save up to have it done right, and one time I might add. I don't know a lot about body work, but I've been around long enough to know if that pillar isn't repaired right, you're bound to have problems with door seating and sealing properly, as well as potential for problems with the front window seal. Just my thoughts FWIW.

Again, sorry man, sucks that likely someones negligence leaves you with repair bills. Good luck finding a feasible repair solution.

 

Paul knows what he's talking about ... you should seriously take his advice.