Police ID driver killed after tire slams into car on Interstate 95 in South Philadelphia
The man who was killed has been identified as a 37-year-old resident of Upper Darby, Pa.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A driver has died after a tire came off of a pick-up truck on I-95, went airborne and smashed into his vehicle in South Philadelphia.
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. Friday on the highway between Front and Broad streets.
Police say the tire struck the median and hit the windshield of a car that was traveling southbound, trapping the driver inside.
The medics were forced to cut the roof off the vehicle to free the victim.
That victim, 37-year-old Iftikhar Jalil from Upper Darby, was transported to Jefferson University Hospital where he later died.
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According to family members, Jalil was a loving husband and father of three children who worked as an Uber driver.
Bryan Chichester, one of Jalil's neighbors, was in disbelief after learning the news.
"Very sad to know that he died like that. I felt it like one in my family died," said Chichester.
Jana Tidwell, a spokesperson for AAA, says debris-related crashes are four times as likely to occur on interstate highways.
According to AAA, roughly two-thirds of debris-related crashes are the result of items falling from a vehicle due to improper maintenance.
"Between the years of 2011 and 2014 there were over 200,000 police-reported crashes due to road debris. It resulted in over 39,000 injuries and approximately 500 deaths," Tidwell explained.
Pennsylvania state police say the driver of the pickup truck stopped at the scene.
There was no word on if that driver would face any charges.
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