Colby-Abbotsford Police Department, none of ….

Colby-Abbotsford Police Department, none of the other store employees witnessed the accident that killed 28-yearold Cody P. Weinke of Perkinstown, but they all heard a loud bang in the service area where he was working alone.

Weinke’s body was found on the floor next to a work bench, and he appeared to have been killed instantly.

The employees told the investigating officer that a “tire explosion” was likely the cause of the accident, which happened during a wheel and tire assembly.

“The tire was no longer seated on the rim upon arrival, but appeared intact and looked brand new,” the officer wrote. “The rim had a dent about four to six inches in size that prevented it from being perfectly circular on one side of the rim.”

Based on his observations of the scene, the officer said it appeared as if the tire had struck a heating pipe on the ceiling above the service area, leaving a dent in some protective metal sheeting around the pipe.

TJ Trum, the in-house legal counsel for Pomp’s Tire Service and team leader for risk management and safety, characterized the accident as a “tire and wheel assembly failure.” He said OSHA will often refer to such incidents as “a spontaneous release of compressed air.”

Trum said the company’s understanding is that the tire had already been mounted on the rim when — for reasons not yet known — the rim was ejected from the tire, colliding with the employee and causing his fatal injuries.

“This is such a rare and unusual set of circumstances,” he said. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of why that tire and wheel assembly failed.”

When asked about the safety complaint filed in June, Trum said his company is working closely with OSHA on that open investigation, but he said it is “completely unrelated” to the fatal accident that occurred on July 28.

Representatives from the regional OSHA office in Appleton are handling the investigation. A call to the agency’s public affairs office was not returned before press time.