Police: I-85 driver killed by flying tire

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County police say a tire that flew over the median killed a driver on Interstate 85 Friday morning.

Police said a Dodge pickup truck driven by Michael Green was traveling northbound on I-85 south of Shallowford Road Friday morning when one of the truck's tires flew off and over the median wall.

The tire struck the driver of a minivan that was in a southbound lane. Police identified her as 47-year-old Aila Masud. Masud was pronounced dead at the crash scene.

A relative told Channel 2's Liz Artz that Masud was taking her 16-year-old daughter to school when the accident happened. The family member told Artz the teenager grabbed the wheel from her mother and maintained control of the van until it stopped along the interstate. She was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston for evaluation but is now home with her family, the relative said.

Police said they are trying to determine why the wheel came off the truck.

"Was it human error was it an accident? We have to find those answers to determine charges," said DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish.

WSBTV