It is a potentially dangerous act that hasn’t let up, according to residents of a community north-west of London, Ont. Wheel nuts continue to be loosened from vehicles in Ailsa Craig, Ont. “I’ve known four people, actually, who had their lug nuts loosened. The tires hadn’t fallen off, they heard the noise first. Thank God,” said resident Wayne Higman. But in one case, a tire flew off while a vehicle was moving. Tonya Nichol told CTV News London she was almost back to town after running errands when it happened last month. “Just as I turned the corner to come into town, the tires vacated my vehicle, crossed the road and into the ditch.” The aftermath left her truck damaged and her heart in her throat. She can’t get the thought out of her head about what might have happened if she’d been going faster. “I had my daughter and her friend from dance in the truck at the time. It could have been three of us injured if we had been going highway speeds and it fell off then.” Her anger took her to social media, where she discovered she wasn’t alone. “Since then, we’ve heard at least 8 other people have been affected by it.” CTV News also spoke to a volunteer firefighter who nearly lost her tire. All the stories are enough to warrant concern from police and residents. “I’m worried, it doesn’t sound safe, it puts the whole community at risk,” said Kevin Peterson. The level of concern amplified once people began to suspect that this could potentially be related to an online challenge.” A social media challenge has circulated online for several years, encouraging the dangerous prank. Police forces across the province have tried to alert people to the danger. In Ailsa Craig, O.P.P. have confirmed that two people were caught on video surveillance tampering with wheel nuts. They have not been apprehended. Meanwhile, residents here report checking their tires before they drive until the perpetrators are caught or at least learn there is nothing funny about their actions. “That’s no prank to pull because there’s a lot of danger, people taking lug nuts off tires,” said Higman. “It could cost somebody their life,” added Nichol solemnly, as she reflected again on her good fortune that her tire came off at a slow speed.
