Flying tractor-trailer wheel kills van driver on Ottawa highway

A tractor-trailer driver and his employer have been chargedafteradual wheel fell off the truck early Friday morning in Ottawa andstruck a cargo van on the windshield, killing the driver instantly.

The tractor-trailer was heading west just before 6 a.m. ET on Highway 417 near Carling Avenuewhen the driver noticed smoke coming from the wheelsand began to slow down, according to Ontario Provincial PoliceConst. Eric Booth.

"As he was pulling over, a set of wheels from the trailer comes unattached, bounces across three lanes of roadway, goes over the centre median and then lands right in the windshield of a van as it's travelling eastbound in the far right-hand lane," Booth said.

The force of the crash tore most of the cargo van's roof offand the driver waskilled instantly, Booth said.

Victim from Carleton Place, Ont.

The driver of the van,GennadiBrianski, 50,from Carleton Place, Ont., was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two other vehicles thatswerved to avoid the cargo van were involved in a minor crash.

The driver of another vehicle suffered a minor injury and did not need to be taken to hospital.

The tractor-trailer came to a stop on the westbound shoulder and was later escorted off the highway by police.

Ottawa-based ICB Food Distribution, the company that owns the truck, has been charged with operating an unsafe commercial vehicle, and the driver of the truck, a Gatineau, Que., man,has been charged with driving with a detached part, Booth said. A court appearance is scheduled for March 31.

"This doesn't happen as much as it used to," Booth said. "A number of years ago, the province set up guidelines and made it a more serious offence for a wheel to come off, and made the owners of the vehicles liable as well as the mechanics.

"Just regular maintenance, that's all it comes down to, maintaining the vehicle properly on a regular basis. That's why it's so important for the walk-around in the morning, to have a pre-check on the vehicle."

The driver of the tractor-trailer had done a pre-trip inspection before the Friday morning incident, Booth said.