Trail police report that a dangerous social media trend known as the “lug nut challenge” appears to have landed in the Golden City.
This first reported case happened Saturday, Aug. 30, when a RCMP officer attended to the call of a single motor vehicle incident on Highway 3B, near Rossland.
Police say the driver, a 66-year-old Rossland woman, was behind the wheel on the highway when her vehicle began to shake and make strange noises.
The woman slowed down and began to turn around when a tire detached from her vehicle.
The woman was uninjured; however, police warn that the outcome could have been disastrous.
Police say the woman suspected she may have been the target of the social media trend where someone intentionally loosens the lug nuts on the wheel of stranger’s vehicle as a prank.
“Trail RCMP is thankful this did not end in a serious tragedy,” Sgt. Mike Wicentowich says.
“There is another report of a vehicle with loosened lug nuts and a suspicion that it may be linked to this same social media trend.”
Wicentowich asks all drivers to be vigilant and check their wheels before embarking on a trip.
“We are also asking anyone with information about who is responsible to come forward and speak to an investigator,” he emphasizes.
“This is a criminal act and incredibly stupid and irresponsible.”
There is a difference between real life consequences and what is portrayed through dangerous social media videos, he adds.
“The public can help by reporting any dangerous social media trends they witness online to the parent company and ask for it to be removed immediately.”
