Disabled man's terror after wheel comes flying off his car

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A DISABLED Newquay man has said he shed tears at the thought of endangering the life of another after a wheel flew off his vehicle as he drove it and into a garden, narrowly missing the homeowners.

Neville Rogers, 51, was returning home from a car boot sale at Mitchell on Saturday when the wheel suddenly flew off his Peugeot 2008 and over a wall at Tredinnick Farm on the A3076.

Fortunately the wheel – from the front passenger side – landed on a patch of grass, missing the house and its owners who were in the garden at the time.

It was only the previous day that Mr Rogers, who uses a Motability car due to his spinal problems, had had two new front tyres fitted at a garage in Newquay.

He said the thought of the tyre hitting somebody had brought him to tears.

"I am fuming this has happened, I was in shock and had tears, it was frightening," said Mr Rogers, of Higher Tower Road. "I'm still angry that my life and that of other people could have been endangered.

"I was going at about 40mph, and the front of the car suddenly dropped and the wheel just disappeared, it took me about 30 metres to come to a stop but the whole thing happened in quick motion.

"I saw the wheel bouncing over the wall and I was horrified. I went to the house and asked if it hit anything, and the homeowners said they found it lying on the grass. I'm still fuming now because if it had hit somebody, I dread to think how much damage it would have caused. I would never have lived it down."

Mr Rogers called the police as the vehicle came to a stop on a sharp bend.

"I had to call the police as it was just too dangerous," he said.

"I waited for two hours for the recovery vehicle to arrive and just sat on the wall with the residents, who were trying to calm me down.

"I've been without a car for a few days now, which is incredibly inconvenient as I can't walk any great distance due to my spinal issues.

"The wheel and axle are completely damaged, and I'm facing a fight with the insurance now. I shouldn't have to pay out for this."

A police spokesman confirmed they received a call from Mr Rogers shortly before 4pm.

"A person reported that a wheel had come off their vehicle, which was on a sharp bend blocking a lane," the spokesman said. "The road was cleared about an hour later, and the vehicle was removed."

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