Detached truck wheel kills Corentyne woman on her way to church

A Sunday morning of worship turned tragic for the Punch family of Alness Village, Corentyne, Berbice, when 65-year-old Donna Punch was fatally struck by a loose wheel from a passing lorry.

Punch, a housewife and respected leader at the New Jerusalem Church of Alness, was preparing to head to church with her husband, Pastor Leroy Punch, when the incident occurred.

Pastor Punch recounted the horrifying moment.

“I hear this big truck coming. So I take a look at the truck and I see it coming. Something say, look again. And when I look again, I see this big wheel coming. Me right there, and my wife is next to me. I see this big wheel coming. She didn’t see it because she was taking her umbrella down to get in the car. By the time this wheel roll and come to the edge of the road and bounce, the thing coming straight to me and I barely duck out. And this thing jump over me,” he said.

Reports indicate that the rear wheel detached from a ten-wheeled lorry, possibly due to improperly tightened lug nuts. As the vehicle navigated a turn, the runaway wheel rolled across the roadway, striking Donna Punch.

“I couldn’t help her, I had to save myself,” Pastor Punch added.

Police have since launched an investigation into the incident.