A woman died after a wheel came loose from a passing pick-up truck and smashed through the windscreen of her SUV, police in the United States have said.

The freak accident happened on Monday (September 11) on the westbound lane of I-70 near Indianapolis at about 7.45am. After careening across the central reservation, the wheel bounced up into the woman’s vehicle – smashing through the windscreen and tearing off part of its roof.

As a result, the woman lost control of her vehicle, which crashed off the highway, through a fence and finally came to rest on its side in a yard about 25 feet from a house.

Paramedics arrived on the scene to find the woman unresponsive in her “severely damaged car,” police said. The responders provided medical aid and attempted to save the woman, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the vehicle that lost its wheel, a Nissan pick-up truck, has been located by law enforcement officials. Police said the incident is still under investigation, reported the New York Post.