SALISBURY — A Salisbury man was struck by a tire Friday while outside his home in a freak accident in the 2500 block of East Innes Street.
Wade Fisher Jr., 81, was standing in his yard along the roadside when a tire came off a passing vehicle and hit him.
Phillip Ajayi, 20, of Oak Leaf Lane, was the driver of that vehicle, a 1994 Honda Accord. He was on Innes Street around 4:10 p.m. when the left front tire came off his car.
“It was just a freak accident,” said Salisbury Police Sgt. Mark Hunter.
Ajayi said he couldn’t believe what was happening.
“I was driving down the street and my front tire popped off. I watched it roll out,” he said.
As the tire rolled toward Fisher, who officials say may have been near his mailbox, Ajayi watched the scene unfold in his rearview mirror.
He drove a short distance with the axle scraping onto the roadway.
Ajayi pulled over to the right side of the road and ran across the street to check on Fisher.
Ajayi said the man was responsive, but didn’t remember anything about being struck by the tire. He asked Ajayi to run to his house and knock on the door for help. Fisher’s wife was inside, police officials said.
Fisher was taken by ambulance to Rowan Regional Medical Center, where officials said he was in stable condition.
Hunter said he believed the tire hit Fisher in the right leg. He also said it appeared lug nuts were not on the tire.
Ajayi was cited for unsafe tires. Officers at the scene said he was given a citation for the condition of his remaining threadbare tires, not for the tire that came off.
Traffic was slowed while motorists shifted into the left lane to maneuver around the stopped Honda.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.