Court hears how fatal freak accident ended in tragedy A LOOSE tyre on a freeway triggered a freak chain of events ending in tragedy, a court has heard. Rachel Mead, 23, was killed by a car that catapulted off the Hume Freeway after striking the truck tyre, the Coroners Court heard. Her husband Kenneth, who had been standing with her on the median strip, was able to dive clear. Their car had hit the wheel, one of two that had fallen off a semi-trailer, and they'd stopped to inspect the damage and try to move the tyre off the freeway. The Meads had been driving south along the freeway on the night of March 8, 2010. Shortly after they hit the tyre and stopped, motorist Dimitra Mougrakis also hit the same tyre. In a statement tendered to the court, she said: "I was travelling between 95 and 100km/h. I had overtaken two ... trucks when, at the last minute, I saw a tyre sitting in the middle of the lane I was in. My car has hit the tyre front-on and became airborne. When my car landed back on the freeway I hit a large object. At the time I didn't know what I had hit, but the object landed right in the middle of my windscreen. She said she ran back and, much to her horror, discovered she'd hit a woman. "I was freaking out," she said. Leading Senior Constable Jason Bolitho, of the Epping Highway Patrol, told the court: Ms Mougrakis struck the truck wheel ... (and) this caused her to lose control of her vehicle. It became airborne and speared off the road to the right. Kenneth has seen it coming and was able to jump the barrier. Rachel was struck by it. Coroner Kim Parkinson will make a finding in the inquest on a date to be fixed.