Tragic crash brings concern about tire and blowout safety

An emotional night Tuesday in El Paso’s Upper Valley.

Students, teachers and parents at Lincoln Middle School remember a life cut too short. Ballons released in honor of 14-year-old Peter Garza. He was inside his family’s SUV when it rolled over on I-10.

Peter, his little brother Jesse, his mother Stephanie and Peter’s older sister Taylor were all killed. Taylor’s dad and six-year old sister survived the crash and both are out of the hospital.

State troopers say one of the tires on the family’s SUV blew out, causing it to rollover. That has many talking about tire safety. So what should you do if a tire blows on your vehicle while traveling at a high rate of speed?

Preventing a blowout by checking your tires is the best thing you can do and slamming on your brakes if a tire does happen to blow out is the worst thing you can do.

“The pressures are very important,” said Tracy Heal, owner of Affordable Automotive Service Center on Doniphan, who pointed out you can find the correct tire pressure on the sticker inside the driver’s side door. “If they’re under inflated, the tire is really going to build a lot of heat, the rubber comes apart, then you have an issue. Same thing when its over inflated, as the tire gets hot, it builds pressure, and as it builds pressure, then again, then you have a problem.”

Heal said you can prevent many blowouts by simply checking your tires for cracks and wear before taking any long summer trips.

“We’re in Texas, it gets hot,” he said. “You figure that pavement is going to be 140 degrees and those tires take a beating, you’re doing 80 miles an hour, those things get hot, they start coming apart and it can be really devastating.”

“A high speed blowout, especially in the front tire area, is very dangerous,” said Tim Sievek, a driving instructor at El Paso Driving Academy. “And one of the big mistakes that people make is that they immediately hit the brakes hard.”

Sievek took ABC-7 employees on a drive to show us how to handle a high speed blowout.

“One of the most important things in handling a front tire blowout or any other tire at higher speeds is firmly grip the steering wheel, it’s going to shake,” Sievek said. “Let your foot off the accelerator, gently apply the brakes, until the car comes to a nice smooth stop. Again, what you do not want to do is hit the brakes hard because that could end up in a rollover.”

Also, remember not to overcorrect, wait until your speed is safely reduced before pulling off the highway. And if you’re going on a long trip, check your tire pressure before you leave.