Runaway truck wheel hits bus driver on expressway; Driver brings bus to safety, dies

A bus driver was killed Tuesday after a wheel detached from a cargo truck and crashed through the windshield of a bus on a highway in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

The accident occurred at around 3:40 p.m. Tuesday near Poseung Junction on the Seohaean Expressway, when a wheel detached from a cargo truck traveling toward Seoul, according to local broadcaster SBS.

Video footage showed the bus continuing forward with a shattered windshield, swerving slightly as its hazard lights flashed, then pulling over to the shoulder.

Despite sustaining critical injuries, the driver managed to pull the bus over to the side of the road, preventing a secondary collision. He was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest and later pronounced dead.

Three of the eight passengers of the bus suffered minor injuries from broken glass, authorities said.

Police are reviewing whether to book the truck driver, a man in his 70s, on charges of causing death under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents.

Authorities are also investigating how the wheel became detached and whether the truck had any maintenance issues.