NYC couple blames TikTok prank for wheel coming off their moving vehicle
The 'Lug Nut Challenge' is a growing trend on TikTok
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A New York couple is blaming a dangerous TikTok challenge for their wheel coming off their Jeep while they were driving in the city.
"My family could have been killed because of a stupid TikTok challenge," Joe Casaliggi, a retired fire marshal living on Staten Island, told SI Live.
The "Lug Nut Challenge" is a growing trend on TikTok where users of the app film themselves removing or loosening the nuts on cars. Incidents of the challenge have been reported in California, North Dakota and Massachusetts, according to SI Live.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michele Casaliggi was driving home with the couple’s two sons after a fundraiser walk for breast cancer when the driver’s-side rear wheel came off the vehicle. They were about 50 yards from the entrance of a highway.
"I was getting on the service road and all of a sudden it felt like a tire had blown out,’' she said. "I did my best to pull over to the right lane safely because there was no shoulder."
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"My wife and kids were so close to the highway, had they gotten on, the tire could have come off at those high speeds," Joe Casaliggi added.
The family did not notice anything different about the 2014 Jeep Wrangler when they returned to the car after the cancer walk.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We saw police patrolling the lot [during] the cancer walk,’' she said. "We felt safe."
Joe Casaliggi later found that four lug nuts were missing and a fifth bolt was cut off.
(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
"Lug nuts do not shake themselves loose and fall off all at the same time without warning," he said. "It appeared that someone removed four of the five lug nuts and the last one held on for a while and finally broke off."
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The couple said family friends tipped them off to the incident perhaps being part of the dangerous trend on TikTok, explaining they had never heard of the "Lug Nut Challenge" before.
"I’m thankful that no one was hurt, but parents and people need to be aware of this — it’s insane," Joe Casaliggi said.
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"Someone could get seriously hurt or killed," Michele Casaliggi said.
Joe Casaliggi also went to the police to report the incident, but was told it was only considered theft of property due to the four missing lug nuts, not reckless endangerment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}District Attorney Michael E. McMahon tweeted about it on Wednesday, calling it "really dumb" behavior for people to participate in such a challenge.
"Thankful the Casaliggi family was not hurt in this incident, and that we have not received widespread reports of the ‘lug nut challenge' across the Island. This is really dumb, dangerous, and mean behavior," McMahon tweeted.
Other TikTok challenges have also cropped up in recent months that have left people injured.
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One teenager in Louisiana may face up to 10 years behind bars after she allegedly punched her 64-year-old disabled teacher, sending the woman to the hospital. Officials suspect the attack may have been part of the "slap a teacher" challenge, part of a viral TikTok trend called "devious licks."