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A man died Thursday after his car was hit by a flat tire on Interstate 45 near Spring, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n
The crash happened around 1:45 p.m. near Louetta Road, an official said.<\/p>\n
A tractor-trailer was traveling south when two tires on its left side came off and rolled across the freeway’s center lanes, Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n
OUT OF CONTROL: <\/strong>Houston roads, drivers are the deadliest in the country<\/p>\n A wheel bounced off the center median and struck a vehicle traveling in the northbound lane, Gonzalez said. The tire hit the vehicle against the windshield and went off the roof, Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n The driver died at the scene of the crash, Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n Gonzalez identified the driver as 32-year-old Lee Simon. An 11-year-old boy was in the vehicle with Simon and suffered minor injuries, Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n The other wheel veered onto the service road and struck another vehicle, damaging it, Gonzalez said. The driver of that vehicle was not injured, he said<\/p>\n The crash shut down two lanes of the highway for nearly four hours after the crash. <\/p>\n The truck driver stopped after the accident. No changes related to the incident had been announced as of Thursday night.<\/p>\n john.ferguson@chron.com<\/p>\n