Posted on 04/02/2010 1:21:12 PM PDT by decimon
A US air force officer who was on holiday in Scotland has died after a car tyre she was holding exploded.
Capt Jenna Wilcox, 27, was on a break with her husband when the accident happened in Dalkeith, Midlothian, on Saturday.
She died at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh on Thursday, five days after she sustained the injuries.
Capt Wilcox was holding the car tyre inside the vehicle, because it would not fit in the boot, when it exploded.
It is thought the couple had changed the tyre on the BMW Z3, after noticing a bulge in it, but that Capt Wilcox was holding it because the boot was full of luggage.
It is not known what caused the tyre to blow up.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
In the army they once had me changing truck tires. The kind with the steel ring. My tools were a pick ax, an iron and a hammer. I had no idea how dangerous it was inflating those tires.
That is scary. I don’t think I have seen a tire explode.
Prayers up for her loved ones.
I’ve got compressed air in my garage, I’m always careful not to overinflate, and I put on safety glasses for just about anything, but especially when I’m using air tools.
This could reignite The Punic Wars.
Sad story, may she RIP.
A side note, whenever you are inflating your tires never face the sidewall of the tire. Position yourself off to one side in case the tire or wheel fail.
They teach AF and probably Navy mechanics to face the tread of the tire, not the sidewalls in case the tire and rim come apart.
We keep carrying on, one boot in front of the other.
I haven’t been to Scotland in years but when I was the medical care was very 1950-ish.
Big, big bore needles and more medicating than fixing.
I would hope if she was in the military that they would have gotten her to an American military hospital.
5 Days is a long time to work on something.
When I was young I seldom wore gloves or eye protection. As I get older things hurt more and I got smarter. I wear safety goggles whenever I deem them necessary and gloves for most everything.
How can you possibly say that with such certainty without knowing the nature and extent of her injuries?
Aged Tires: A Driving Hazard? - ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/aged-tires-driving-hazard-4826897
I know of another guy who was killed by a split rim tire. They are illegal now.
Gloves are *everywhere* in my life, for doing garage/lawn/garden/home maintenance chores.
I really like the fact that exam gloves are pretty cheap at Costco. I always wear them when washing or working on cars, and I’ll go to something heavier if I’m doing serious wrenching.
Because I have read too much recently about the NHS. Secondly I live near a VA hospital where all the TBD patients are coming. Trust me if the husband had minor injuries ( and that;s what the article said) AND the woman was in hospital for 5 days and they say nothing further about her injuries then knowing the NHS ( and what wil soon become the Ameican Health Service) she did not receive top notch care. In fact her doc may well have been a Paki national
I know of another guy who was killed by a split rim tire. They are illegal now.
My story is from more than 40 years ago. I was clueless.
accepted -—but it was pretty clever just really bad timing
I think it is really the Brits’ fault for not using the proper, American spelling of tire.
I have a British friend with a heavy accent whom I sometimes have difficulty understanding. I was thinking once, “I wish he’d just speak English.” Then I realized, “He IS speaking English. I’m the one who isn’t.”
Wife WILL NOT inflate a tire of any kind.She gets very nervous even passing Big rigs.
We had a 1967 dodge Charger at the time that needed a front end alignment,but it was a Mopar,old and very expensive.
I bought cheap tire knowing full well they would not last long.
So one day as I was airing up the tires,the one on the right side exploded.
I have aired up numerous tires over the years and to me it was just another deal.Until the tire exploded in my face.Thank goodness I was not hurt,but it gave me a new respect for tires and the people who work with them.
PS,the tire did not look bad at all.
Now when we travel,i get past Big Rigs as quickly as possible. In West Texas,the heat will wear out any good looking tire.The remnants from the vehicles blown out tires are referred to as [Alligator skins].Some entrails last for miles.They are the only things buzzards do not eat.[To the best of my knowledge!]
“England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” - George Bernard Shaw
There are sections of England up towards Newcastle where the accent and the speech itself are so difficult to understand it is amazing that anyone from outside goes there. The Geordie dialect puts the Cajuns to shame
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.