A MOM has said she’s been left permanently scarred after a car part flew through her windshield and pierced her face like a bullet.
Five years after the near-death experience, she’s issuing a warning for drivers to save other people on the road from the same horrifying accident that caused her to have 30 surgeries.
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TikTok user @abundantlyrooted shared her story of a loose lug nut hitting her face in a video posted to her account that now has over one million views.
Holding up a metal piece about the size of a finger, she said, “This lug nut went through my face five years ago today.”
The woman said recovering from the traumatic injury took about three years and over 30 surgeries in her face and jaw.
Lug nuts, considered by some to be the most important thing in your car, fasten a vehicle’s wheel to its hub and keep the tire properly attached to the axle so it doesn’t wobble or detach while driving.
The TikTok user said she was driving at about 60 miles per hour when a truck traveling toward her on the highway suddenly lost a lug nut.
The metal car piece flew into her windshield “like a perfect bullet hole” and pierced her face, she said.
She went on to have her jaw reconstructed, metal put into her face, and lots of dental work to recover from the injury.
In a follow-up video, the woman said her 12-year-old son was in the car with her during the scary incident.
He later told her that she kept driving for about 30 seconds after she was struck before pulling to the side of the road.
She recalled being found covered in blood on the side of the road and worrying she would die.
The truck driver’s tire came off entirely further down the road and hit a couple on a motorcycle, she said, without providing details about the victims’ conditions.
The woman shared her story to remind other drivers of the importance of tightening, or torquing, down a car’s lug nuts.
Lug nuts have to be torqued using a torque wrench to make sure wheels are properly attached to a car.
“Every time that your tire comes off of your car, you need to torque down your lug nuts,” the driver warned.
How to torque your lug nuts
Below is a step-by-step guide to tightening your lug nuts so that the wheels don’t fall off your vehicle. All you need is a torque wrench.
- Grab a torque wrench set to the vehicle’s specific setting, which can be found in the owner’s manual.
- Tighten the lug nuts in a star pattern to make sure they’re all fastened with even pressure.
- Twist the torque wrench until you hear a click. If you’re using a digital torque wrench, tighten until the gauge reaches the correct reading.
- Then go around the pattern, star or criss-cross, to confirm it’s properly tightened.
Source: Family Handyman
“And then 50 miles, 50 to 100 miles after that, they need to be retorqued.”
Under-tightening could lead to a tire falling off, while over-tightening could lead to a damaged wheel.
When tightened correctly, and again 50 miles after driving it, the wheel stays against the hub, which reduces the risk of wobbly tires or falling off at highway speeds.
‘YOU CAN KILL SOMEBODY’
To make sure you get the proper torque, you can pick up a torque wrench at auto repair shops or your nearest Walmart.
A quarter-inch chrome-plated torque wrench is available online at Walmart for just $21.56.
To properly use it, attach the socket and set your torque wrench to the appropriate value, which can be found in your car’s owner manual.
Then apply pressure until you hear or feel the wrench click.
“It’s not just about your tire flying off your car, you can kill somebody,” the TikTok user said.
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