GAUTIER, MS (WLOX) – A 21-year-old woman died Tuesday after she was struck by a tire that broke free from an 18-wheeler driving westbound on I-10.

Police are still piecing together exactly what happened, but so far they’ve determined an 18-wheeler traveling westbound lost two wheels. Those wheels rolled through the eastbound lanes and into the rest stop on the south side of the highway striking a 21-year-old student from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Police say she and her two friends had stopped to use the restroom and were about get back into their car when the truck tires struck one woman and smashed into their car and an SUV parked next to it.

The name of the woman killed has not been released. Gautier Police tell us she and her friends were not originally from the Mississippi Gulf Coast or New Orleans.

Police have talked to the driver of the 18-wheeler, who apparently realized he lost the wheels, but didn’t know what happened. The driver who was going west, turned around, and was driving east when he saw the first responders at the rest stop. Police say he pulled over just past the bridge.

The accident remains under investigation.