Road debris and blowout

[Ross]

While traveling last night on one of the interstate highways near my home I was surprised by a very, I mean very loud bang and the instant deflation of the left rear tire.
There are some monster potholes around here and my first thought was that I had not seen one but I never felt a hit from the front front.
While manuevering to the right and the shoulder I noticed two other motorists on the shoulder looking over their cars. I stopped for a moment, opened the door, looked back and confirmed the tire was junk so, as Charlie Daniels said "limped on down the shoulder on the rim". The highway was snowy between lanes and tire tracks so I decided to do my tire change off the highway where it was safer lest I be in the path of the next victim who may loose control.
Oddly the wheel didn't look bent. I noticed a piece of the car hanging down and broken so figured a piece of debris was what I had hit. After changing the tire and driving off I noticed a bad vibration with application of the brakes, so used surface roads for the rest my trip home.
This morning I investigated and found this;

[Ross]

and

[Ross]

and this;

the drum is punctured and cracked, the backing plate took a hit too.
all this several inches from the fuel tank.

[Tiger]

So what was it that puncture that hole and ruined your brake rotor?

[Ross]

Don't know. The hole is somewhat triangular, maybe a piece of angle iron? No piece was in the tire.
I didn't stay on the scene feeling it was unsafe so had no opportunity to speak with the other drivers. I suspect I wasn't the last person to run over whatever it was.

[xspeedy]

That had to be something protruding from the tarmac. I can't imagine something loose on the ground doing that kind of damage.

[BMWDriver]

Maybe it was a ricochet from a .50 cal ??

[repenttokyo]

I had a break disc explode once - could it be brake failure?

[Bill R.]

be pretty long and at just the right angle to reach all the through the tire,rim and brake drum.. Angle iron maybe, I don't think rebar would punch its way through all that.

[bsell]

Was the road surface made of concrete? I am wondering if you won the game called, "Find the bent rebar sticking out of the road that the last snow plow bent up just to destroy tires and rims."

I can't imagine the forces involved to do that kind of damage. Gas tank hell, to stick a hole through the drum like that, this 'road debris' could have easily found its way into the cabin (and maybe YOU!).

I would count yourself lucky that you are only out a couple hundred dollars vs. something much more serious...

Thanks for sharing,

Brian