Driver hit by tire recalls commute that could have been his last

Some would call what happened to Steele Brownlee a miracle. He's just thankful to be able to call one morning commute an incident he survived.Brownlee is able to smile about it now, knowing that his Nov. 15 commute could have been his last.He remembers driving his Nissan Versa on Interstate 41 that morning near the Mayfair exit. He was in the fast lane when time seemed to slow down."All of a sudden, I see a tire, stationary, in the air," he said by phone from his home in Appleton. "The front windshield -- I could see it, like, slowly crack. It turned slow motion, like, what they say is true. "He remembers the tire slamming into his windshield and bouncing off, but not before leaving the caved in glass inches away from his shoulder."It was slowly coming into the car," he said.The driver who lost the tire while driving the opposite direction on the interstate told investigators her SUV had just been service. According to the SUV driver's husband, the dealer is covering the woman's repairs as well as Brownlee's and a van her tire hit.Brownlee was the only person who went to the hospital. Doctors checked him to make sure there was no glass in his eyes, he said, before releasing him the same day.He's glad no one else was hurt. A diagram on the crash report obtained by WISN 12 News shows the angle the tire traveled covered multiple lanes of traffic before crossing the median and hitting Brownlee's car and the van." just perfect timing for everything," Brownlee said, "We could call it a miracle, but I'm just a lucky son of a gun."

Some would call what happened to Steele Brownlee a miracle. He's just thankful to be able to call one morning commute an incident he survived.

Brownlee is able to smile about it now, knowing that his Nov. 15 commute could have been his last.




He remembers driving his Nissan Versa on Interstate 41 that morning near the Mayfair exit. He was in the fast lane when time seemed to slow down.

"All of a sudden, I see a tire, stationary, in the air," he said by phone from his home in Appleton. "The front windshield -- I could see it, like, slowly crack. It turned slow motion, like, what they say is true. "

He remembers the tire slamming into his windshield and bouncing off, but not before leaving the caved in glass inches away from his shoulder.

"It was slowly coming into the car," he said.

The driver who lost the tire while driving the opposite direction on the interstate told investigators her SUV had just been service. According to the SUV driver's husband, the dealer is covering the woman's repairs as well as Brownlee's and a van her tire hit.

Brownlee was the only person who went to the hospital. Doctors checked him to make sure there was no glass in his eyes, he said, before releasing him the same day.

He's glad no one else was hurt. A diagram on the crash report obtained by WISN 12 News shows the angle the tire traveled covered multiple lanes of traffic before crossing the median and hitting Brownlee's car and the van.

"[It was] just perfect timing for everything," Brownlee said, "We could call it a miracle, but I'm just a lucky son of a gun."