Keegan Matias was travelling at 100km/hr on the M1 Princes Motorway when he watched one of his front wheels fly metres into the air in front of him.
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It left the terrified 21-year-old sliding along the major road at 6.30am Monday, April 24 on three wheels.
The errant wheel hit the roadside barrier while Mr Matias managed to control his ute sufficiently well enough to pull over to the side of the road.
That feat in itself prompted all manner of praise from the tow-truck driver who came to his rescue.
"It was pretty frightening to be honest because I didn't really have any control of the car," Mr Matias said.
"[The tow-truck driver] said I was very lucky that the car didn't flip and for me to not be severely injured or even possibly dead," he said of his Albion Park experience.
Although he has no evidence, Mr Matias believes the nuts on his wheel were loosened while the car stood outside his Port Kembla address the night before.
The plumber, whose ute passed a registration check a week earlier, came to this conclusion after a series of posts warning Port Kembla locals of tyres having been tampered with.
A Port Kembla family detailed to the Mercury a similarly nightmarish experience.
One of the front wheels came off the family's car while driving 80km/hr on the Albion Park highway and began to skid earlier this year.
The family didn't wish to be named but confirmed that they had parked earlier that day at a car park near Kembla Street in Port Kembla.
Three more people have shared warnings on the Port Kembla CommUnity Notice Board Facebook group after having their cars interfered with.
While police could not confirm deliberate tampering, residents flagged O'Donnell, Kembla and Brody streets, as well as Darcy Rd, as troublesome areas.
As for Mr Matias, he now wakes up early every morning to check his tyres before driving his ute.
He has one message for the alleged person or persons that he believes are loosening the car tyres in Port Kembla: to think about what they're doing.
"That could have killed me, could kill anyone else," he said.
"I hope they do get caught, or they do realise like hey this isn't something to be messing around with. You're messing with someone's life and it could change a heap of people's lives."
If anyone believes they may be a victim of a crime or has any information on these incidents they can report the matter to their local police or via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Marlene Even
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
