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Lombard man killed by stray wheel on I-90 identified

A 55-year-old Lombard man was killed early Monday after the car he was riding in was struck by a wheel that came off an oncoming vehicle on the interstate in Wisconsin.

The Dane County medical examiner's office identified the Lombard man as Mark C. Bolan. He was the passenger in a 2014 Ford sedan going west on I-90 near Madison, Wisconsin, at 1:20 a.m. when a wheel somehow broke off an eastbound vehicle.

The wheel then went through the windshield of the sedan and hit Bolan.

The collision caused the 56-year-old driver of the sedan to lose control and slide into a concrete barrier, authorities said.

State Patrol Sgt. Gary Helgerson said the Lombard man died at the scene.

The driver of the sedan wasn't hurt.

State police are asking the public to help them locate the driver of the vehicle that lost the wheel.

"We believe that they inadvertently lost the wheel due to a mechanical failure of the axle," Helgerson said.

Investigators believe the rim and tire came from a dual axle trailer that was being pulled by either a pickup or a truck.

Police said the rim is 16 inches wide and the tire is a Mastercraft Courser size LT235/85R16.

"If they were lightly loaded, they could have traveled a great distance not realizing that they had lost one wheel," said Helgerson.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Wisconsin State Patrol at (608) 846-8500.

• Daily Herald staff writer Sara Hooker contributed to this report.

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