Woman hurt by flying tire

A 40-year-old Dryden woman remains in critical condition in a Thunder Bay hospital after the spare tire from a trailer being towed by another vehicle slammed through the windshield of the van in which she was a passenger yesterday on Highway 502.
Joyce Butts was airlifted from the scene to McKellar Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The driver and four other passengers in the van were taken by ambulance to La Verendrye Hospital here in Fort Frances, where they were treated for minor injuries.
The accident occurred around 10:30 a.m. about one km north of Catpaw Road, which is about 100 km south of Dryden.
The van was northbound when a spare tire from a trailer being towed by a southbound vehicle became detached and smashed through the windshield.
The other vehicle did not stop.
Mark Thompson, a tourist from Minnesota, was the first on the scene and immediately tried to call for help on his cell phone, but was unable to do so because of poor cellular coverage in that area.
“I arrived just as it [the van] was coming to a stop,” said Thompson.
“I didn’t see what actually happened, but I saw the smashed windshield so I stopped.”^Thompson said two other people stopped to try to render first aid to Butts so he continued south until he found someone with a CB radio, who contacted police.
He then returned to the scene and tried to turn back southbound traffic until police arrived.
Police from the Emo and Fort Frances OPP detachments attended the scene, as did a Fort Frances emergency response unit.
The “jaws of life” were used to extricate Butts from the vehicle.
Highway 502 remained closed both directions for three hours yesterday while police investigated the accident scene. One lane was opened at 2 p.m., with traffic flow returning to normal at 4 p.m.
Fort Frances OPP reported the vehicle from which the tire fell has been located. No charges had been laid by press time today, but police are continuing an investigation.