Loose tire strikes windshield on I-5 on Secure Your Load Day

A mother and daughter are thankful to be alive and unhurt after a loose tire struck the windshield of their pickup on I-5 in Tacoma.

It happened Thursday morning, on National Secure Your Load Day.

"We're fortunate, we're lucky," said Julie Copp, as she looked over the broken window of her pickup.

Her daughter Kelly Copp was driving southbound near 56th Street when they saw the tire bouncing down the road right at them.

"It was like, alright, this is what's happening," Kelly Copp said.

Despite the tire smacking the windshield right in front of her, Kelly Copp managed to keep the vehicle under control and bring it to a stop without hitting anyone else.

Because the tire struck some other vehicles ahead of them, neither of the Copps were able tell where it came from.

"We don't have any witnesses, nobody was able to identify the vehicle that lost this tire," said Trooper Johnna Batiste of the Washington State Patrol.

Batiste said a state highway worker who responded thought it looked like a spare tire off a trailer.

"They probably don't even realize that it's off their vehicle," Kelly Copp said. "I occasionally drive a van and it's got a big tire on the back and it would be so easy for that to fall off."

The incident happened on Secure Your Load Day, when police and transportation departments around the country remind people to tie down anything that might fly out.

State troopers say that's especially important during summer, when people are often towing trailers or boats.