NYC couple blames TikTok prank for wheel coming off their moving vehicle

A New York couple is blaming a dangerous TikTok challenge for their wheel coming off their Jeep while they were driving in the city.

https://twitter.com/StatenIslandDA/status/1450861603050696711

"My family could have been killed because of a stupid TikTok challenge," Joe Casaliggi, a retired fire marshal living on Staten Island, told SI Live.

The "Lug Nut Challenge" is a growing trend on TikTok where users of the app film themselves removing or loosening the nuts on cars. Incidents of the challenge have been reported in California, North Dakota and Massachusetts, according to SI Live.

Michele Casaliggi was driving home with the couple’s two sons after a fundraiser walk for breast cancer when the driver’s-side rear wheel came off the vehicle. They were about 50 yards from the entrance of a highway.

"I was getting on the service road and all of a sudden it felt like a tire had blown out,’' she said. "I did my best to pull over to the right lane safely because there was no shoulder."

"My wife and kids were so close to the highway, had they gotten on, the tire could have come off at those high speeds," Joe Casaliggi added.

The family did not notice anything different about the 2014 Jeep Wrangler when they returned to the car after the cancer walk.

"We saw police patrolling the lot [during] the cancer walk,’' she said. "We felt safe."

Joe Casaliggi later found that four lug nuts were missing and a fifth bolt was cut off.

"Lug nuts do not shake themselves loose and fall off all at the same time wit... (Read more)

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