Drivers in B.C. city warned to check wheels for loosened lug nuts

Kimberley, B.C., resident Charity Ashby says she'll be checking her vehicle every time she drives after her wheel came off while driving down a highway on Sunday. 

Ashby says she and her ex-husband are one of many in the East Kootenay community who have had the same experience this summer. 

Kimberley RCMP told CBC News that police have received 10 reports of loosened lug nuts over the past few months and suspect it is being done intentionally. 

It has Mounties and residents, like Ashby, warning of the potential outcomes. 

'It's just not a funny joke'

Ashby borrowed her ex-husband's truck, a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado, to drive to Calgary and help their daughter move. 

She said while she was en route, she noticed a strange wobble and pulled over, eventually flagging down two men in a truck. She says the two men checked the wheels and agreed that she was OK to keep driving. 

But when she got just outside of the Alberta city of Nanton, about 320 kilometres northeast of Kimberley, she knew something was wrong. She slowed down and began to pull over. 

"The back driver's tire just came right off the truck and went whizzing down the highway," she told CBC News. 

Thankfully, she says, no one was hurt. She was able to get the truck towed to Calgary and have the vehicle fixed, but it cost her $1,300. 

She says more than the cost, she's worried about safety if this happens to someone else. 

"It's just not a funny joke, it's not funny," she said. 

"I'm just grateful that the tire never hit anyone else or another car, and I'm really grateful that I was already going slow and I was able to keep the truck under control."

1 of 10 reports to police

Sgt. Steve Woodcox with the Kimberley RCMP says this isn't the first instance of this happening. 

He said the first report to police came in July, and since then, there have been others, including Ashby's. 

Woodcox says that one Kimberley neighbourhood in particular, the Townsite area at the northeast end of town, has had the most reports. Regardless of where you live, he says drivers need to be extra vigilant.

"At this point, we don't have any video identifying anyone. These things are occurring ... they appear overnight and are reported on the next day," he said. 

"We just want to make people aware because we are concerned that something serious is going to happen to someone, and someone is going to lose a tire and get into a serious accident."

Police aren't sure who or what is behind the unusual crime and why it continues, but Woodcox says he does not believe any of the reports are related to theft. 

"Whether it's something more sinister, I don't know, but I don't see any indication of theft," he said. 

He said that police have been canvassing the targeted neighbourhoods in hopes someone has caught something on security cameras.

So far, they've had no luck. 

Woodcox says anyone with any information is asked to contact the Kimberley detachment, and he urges all drivers to do a vehicle inspection before hitting the road. 

"Walk around your vehicle. Check the wheels and tires. It just takes a few minutes."