Trip Accident: Thank God we're alive! (by Charlie)

During our trip to Michigan, I was taking my driving shift during the night, and everything was going normally. I was tired, I was snacking on trail mix, and I was listening to a sermon. All of a sudden, I heard a loud SNAP, followed by a grinding noise. I looked back in the mirror to see sparks flying everywhere. Immediately, I slowed down and pulled over. I realized what had happened when I saw a lone wheel zip past me and roll on down the highway.

The car had scraped to a stop just on the shoulder of the road. After informing my mother, I got out and took a look at the damage. It was still dark, so I couldn’t see much, but what I could see surprised me. The right-side trailer wheel was completely gone, and the axle it had rested on was glowing red hot and bent out of shape. The bare frame was resting on the ground; this thing was not going anywhere. I then tried in vain to tow it further off the highway, confirming my suspicion.

So, we had to get the trailer off the van, and drive to get help. It was way too heavy to lift, and we ended up having to use the car jack to pry it off the trailer hitch.

We then got the phone number of a mechanic, who drove to the site and helped us decide what to do. He got a tow truck to come and pick it up. He also went and retrieved the wheel for us, which had rolled another 150 yards down the road. He had to cross two lanes of 70mph highway, risking his life to grab our lost wheel. He was very gracious to us. He could have charged us the $75 service charge for taking our call, but he only took the $18 dollars we had in cash because we didn’t need him.

Then we took it to a place that sold trailers, and got them to fix it. They told us that a lack of wheel grease had caused the accident. Because there wasn’t enough grease in the wheel, it began to heat up, thus melting the rest of the grease away. Then it heated up so much that the axle bent out of shape and allowed the wheel to fall off.

We were going to need a new axle on the trailer, and they just happened to have the right one for the replacement. They heard our story about being on our way to Michigan, so they started on it right away. It only took about an hour, and we were back on the road.

We stopped a little while later to fix the lights on the trailer, (which had not been working) but eventually got those fixed as well.

All in all, I am thankful that we even lived through this accident, and that we were able to still make it to Michigan. I also pray that we will have no similar setbacks on the way down from Michigan.