Freak Accident Involving Tractor-Trailer On I-95 Leaves 62-Year-Old Woman Dead

PORT CHESTER, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- An accident Tuesday afternoon on I-95 left one woman dead and her passenger injured.

Police said a tractor-trailer heading southbound on I-95 was about to exit right onto a ramp for I-287.  However, before it did, the truck lost a tire, which flew over the median and hit a car  driven 62-year-old Adele Mancuso of Toms River, N.J.  Mancuso was killed.

Mancuso's passenger and mother, 84-year-old Constance Casalina of Larchmont, N.Y., is expected to recover from her injuries.

State police did find the truck, which didn't stop at the scene of the accident, parked in Hamilton, N.J.  Authorities told CBS 2's Derricke Dennis that they know who the driver is and will interview him whenever he turns himself in.  He could face felony charges if it is determined that he knowingly fled the scene.

The impact of the tire caused a smashed windshield and made the roof of the car cave in.

"The vehicle kept going. It's unknown at this time if the driver was aware that he lost a rear wheel section because it is an 18-wheel tractor trailer," New York State Police  Investigator Joseph Becerra said.

With I-95 being one of the most heavily traveled highways in the country and famous for its volume of trucks, it can be a driver's nightmare.

Robert Sinclair, of AAA, called the accident "a tragedy" and a "catastrophic failure of equipment."  He believes it was maintenance related.

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