Video of the incident was recorded as the tire rolled down Route 440 this week.
Loose tire rolls down NJ highway until crashing into car
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As the tire rolled down the highway, it suddenly jumped onto the median, rolled along the other side and then headed straight for the Rice family.
John Rice, an officer in Piscataway, was driving behind his wife Allison and their three young children.
"Initially I thought please don't hit my wife, my wife's in the car in front of me, three kids in the car and that was going through my head, please don't hit her," John said on Thursday.
The runaway tire first clipped Allison's car before it slammed into her husband's Jeep.
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"I thought it was going to come right through my windshield," Allison said.
"Out of nowhere a tire jumps across the median from the opposite direction into our side of the roadway," said John. "Didn't notice at the time but it struck the rear of my wife's car and came directly toward the front of my Jeep."
John didn't have much time to react and Allison initially feared he was dead.
Fortunately, John wasn't even seriously hurt in the incident.
The tire appears to have come from a dump truck, and the Rice family would like to know which dump truck is responsible for their scary ride.
New Jersey State Police are investigating to find out where the tire came from.
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