ATLANTA — Five days before Christmas, a Ford SUV blew a tire and rolled on Interstate 20 killing two of the six occupants riding inside.
Cobb investigators found the blown tire had rotted away, although they said the tire tread looked normal.
"We checked the DOT number on that tire and found that it was manufactured in 1996," said Cobb County Police Department Officer Pete Jones.
Rotting Tire Dangers
Jones said this is not the first time he has dealt with an accident caused by rotting tire.
"In the fall of 2008, we had a single-vehicle rollover with fire involved that resulted in a death that was caused by the same type of tire failure," said Jones.
Police are urging drivers to check the age of their tires, which can be determined by reading the last four of 12 digits found on the side of the tires.
Small fractures in the tire, on the tread and the sidewall, can be a warning sign of dry rot.
"If it sits on a shelf for a few years prior to being mounted on a vehicle, it can deteriorate, dry rot and then when you put a load on it on at a highway speed, it can come apart," said Jones.
WSBTV
