Dear PoP – PSA: “Always Check Your Car, my tire fell off”

“Dear PoP,

I just wanted to give your car-owning readers a heads up, a kind of
“always check your car” kind of PSA.

Today, after driving about two miles and making a turn onto Rhode
Island Ave — my tire fell off. It was a near-death grinding halt,
but I managed to end at the side of the road without getting hit. Upon
further inspection, I discovered that I hadn’t hit the median or
broken an axle, it was just that the lug nuts were missing. Gone. Had
I decided to not run errands before heading off to Virgina today, I
would probably have died on the 395.

I used some of the other lug nuts on other tires to get me mobile
again and, upon returning home, I discovered all 5 missing lug nuts on
the ground where I’d previously parked. Most likely, something spooked
the person who was planning on jacking my entire tire and he’d left
mid-theft. I realize some people have locking nuts and nicer cars, but
those of you who drive older cars with those crappy plastic hub caps
(that are often broken/missing like a few of mine are) — always
check your vehicle before you drive it. Just because the tire or
something doesn’t look amiss, doesn’t mean your car is just as you
left it.”