Wheel flies from off-duty police officer's vehicle, seriously injuring woman on Hwy. 400

A 29-year-old Barrie, Ont. woman is seriously injured after a wheel came off a car and smashed through the windshield of the car she was driving on Highway 400 near Innisfil on Wednesday.

Toronto police have confirmed the tire came from a vehicle being driven by a 56-year-old off-duty officer. Ontario Provincial Police say they expect charges will be laid. 

The collision took place on Highway 400 southbound, north of Highway 89, according to OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt. Emergency crews were called to the scene at 8:30 a.m.

Schmidt said the front wheel separated from a vehicle going northbound on Highway 400. It bounced over the highway and struck the southbound car "head-on," he said.

The male driver of the car that lost the wheel remained at the scene and was taken to hospital to be assessed, but was not believed to be injured, Schmidt said. 

An air ambulance landed on the highway to pick up the woman and take her to a trauma centre. The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including multiple fractures, according to the OPP. 

"She will make a full recovery," said Schmidt. 

The impact of the wheel crushed the car's windshield and damaged its roof.

Officers searched for the wheel in the ditch and the bush near the highway but have not yet found it, Schmidt said. 

A stretch of Highway 400 from Highway 80 to Innisfil Beach Road had been closed for the police investigation, but has since reopened. The closure caused "massive" delays in both directions in the area. 

Anyone with relevant dashboard camera video is urged to contact police.