Police said she was the only one in the car at the time of the accident.
An 18-year-old student was killed in Kentucky, in the United States, after a truck tyre broke loose on a highway and crashed through the windshield, as per a report in People. Around midnight, Lauren Collins was travelling south on Interstate 75 close to the Ohio border when a truck tyre came loose on the southbound side of the road, according to a statement from the Boone County Sheriff's Office.
"She was operating a white, 2012 Buick LaCrosse in the southbound lanes of I-75 at the time," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Facebook. Further, the police "responded to the 176.5-mile marker on southbound 1-75 for a single vehicle collision" at around 12:15 am. They said that she was the only one in the car at the time of the accident.
The statement added, "Deputies believe that another vehicle, possibly a dually pickup truck, was travelling northbound on 1-75 when its tire suddenly broke away causing it to roll out of control and over the concrete barrier, where it ultimately struck Collins' vehicle."
The Walton Fire Department "extricated" and transported the teenager to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. "Tragically, Collins passed away from her injuries while at the hospital," the department noted. An investigation regarding the same is underway and police are currently looking for the truck driver.
The teenagers' mother Amy Marsh told People, "Certainly we want to know who the driver is and I know in talking to the sheriff yesterday that they had not had any luck - not that that's going to bring her back." She said that "maybe the driver was unaware that their tyre was loose, I don't know." "It's just hard to wrap your brain around," she continued.
After returning home from work on Saturday night, Ms Marsh said she spoke to Lauren 15 minutes before died. The mother informed that Lauren worked two jobs to save money for college. "She worked at Buffalo Wild Wings as a server in the evenings. She came into my room at about 11:45 and said, 'I'm going out to meet a friend.' I said, 'I wish you wouldn't go. It's late.' She said, 'Well, I'm off tomorrow'." Ms Marsh added that she "saw her leaving on our nest camera at 12:00 am and I believe the accident happened at 12:13".
She informed the outlet that she was sleeping until about 2 am when she heard someone at the main door of their house. Ms Marsh saw a police officer standing at the door through a camera app on her phone. Her husband told her that they had to rush to the University of Cincinnati Hospital since Lauren was admitted there.