A Whanganui man saw his life flash before his eyes after a wheel came free from a large truck and slammed into his ute last week.

Bevan Linklater was driving along Ratana hill near Whanganui and was in the process of safely overtaking another truck in the passing lane when he was suddenly struck by a rogue loose tyre.

Dashcam footage from a vehicle travelling behind Linklater caught the hair-raising incident.

In an instant the tyre appeared from nowhere and hit the left side of Linklater’s ute, sending him across the centre lane and into the path of the oncoming truck.

Linklater somehow managed to regain control of the ute and sharply veer back onto the left-hand side of the road, avoiding both trucks before pulling over to assess the damage.

After hitting Linklater’s ute, the tyre bounced and collided with another truck, forcing it to suddenly brake to avoid a potential crash.

Whanganui man Bevan Linklater was hit by a rogue tyre while driving his ute on Ratana Hill on Monday, October 10, 2022. Photo / Bevan Linklater

Speaking to the Herald, Linklater said in the flash of an eye he thought his time on earth was over.

“It all happened pretty quickly. I didn’t have time to think about too much. But I thought my number was up.

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“One of the lucky things was the tyres came off the left-hand side of the truck. If it was the right side both tryes would have potentially been missiles down the middle of the road.

“If it was a motorcyclist the outcome would have been completely different.”

Linklater spoke to the truck driver who said he had just recently picked his vehicle up from getting new tyres put on, but hadn’t been fitted properly.

The truck driver lost two rear trailer tyres in the incident.

Whanganui man Bevan Linklater was hit by a flying tyre while driving his ute on Ratana Hill on Monday, October 10, 2022. Photo / Bevan Linklater

“The truck driver had stopped at the bottom of the hill to check on me. He was apologetic and gutted about the whole thing.

“He said he had just picked his truck up from the shop and they had put two new tyres on, so it wasn’t put on properly.”

Speaking about his dice with potential death, Linklater praised the truck driver who realised the situation and had slowed down in time.

The ute driver said had the truck been going faster it could have ended really badly.

“What potentially saved me from further harm was that the truck driver knew the wheels had come off so he had slowed right down. That’s how the wheels were in front of him.

“That gave me no one in that opposite lane. That gave me somewhere to swerve to otherwise if someone was there you’d just have to take the tyre. You can’t pull in front of someone. That would be worse... It was coming pretty fast.

“Watching it back I don’t mind it too much because the outcome was alright. It could have been a lot worse.”

This is the moment Bevan Linklater managed to avoid being hit by an oncoming truck that had lost two tyres. Photo / Bevan Linklater

Linklater revealed the tyre put a massive dent in his left ute doors and left tyre marks down the side of the vehicle.

“It’s damaged the front guard, both doors, basically the whole side of the ute.”

Bevan Linklater's ute was damaged after a flying tyre hit his vehicle while he was driving. Photo / Bevan Linklater

Viewers took to social media to react to the eye-opening incident and praise Linklater for his fast reactions behind the wheel to regain control of his ute.

“Wow. That could have ended so different…. glad everyone is ok,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Oh my god!!! I’m so glad it didn’t end up as severe as it very easily [could have].”

“Kudos to the driver. That could’ve turned real ugly real quick,” a third commented.

Linklater walked away unharmed but said he hopes the video serves as a warning to drivers that you must always concentrate as things out of your control can occur in an instant.

“It’s quite educational for people. Even if you’re not doing anything wrong... I was just minding my own business through nothing I’ve done, it all changed in a split second. Whatever you’re driving you just have to make sure it’s safe for the road.”