Same thing happened to me in my '79 280ZX. I had taken the wheels off earlier that night and in my haste to get to work on time I had forgotten to torque the back driver's side wheel. I was probably going about 40 mph when it fell off. I just remember hearing a strange metallic noise then feeling the car drop. I saw the wheel go by me and I was like "wtf?". I jumped out of the car once it stopped and sprinted after the wheel. I didn't want it to roll into an oncoming car or something. The only damage the car really suffered was a bent brake dustshield. h:

 

The mechanic would be paying for that. I had a tire changed at a garage a long time ago and the wheel came off about 20 miles down the road, the garage paid for the damages to the car.

 

i am sure it was...

 

Yikes! glad u werent hurt! bad luck seems to run in 3s. hopefully yours will improve soon..

 

maybe someone was in the process of stealing your wheels

 

wow im amazed nothing happened to u. ur lucky though u still have ur car, after my lower balljoint broke drivin over railroad tracks my car and everything i had on it were gone :wtc:

 

dude that sucks. but at least you avoided an accident with ther person next to you.

 

Still waiting for the estimate on it...

 

did you get your wheel back? im glad no one hit that.

 

Except the mechanic is a personal friend of the family who installed my transmission for $150. Honda would have charged about $1200. I'd rather keep him as a friend and a source of cheap labor than take him to court over a stupid $600 for a mistake where relatively very little damage occured.