Woman cautions other drivers after lug nuts are loosened by crooks and tire falls off

A Colorado Springs woman says loosened lug nuts could have caused her to crash - or worse. Now, she's warning residents to check their vehicles, especially if they park outside or on the street.

The Springs newcomer now wonders what would've happened if she had lost her driver-side tire at a higher rate of speed, or if law enforcement had stopped the crooks when they were caught in the act.

"I could've gotten really hurt," she said. 

According to Nicole Turner, several months ago she was on her way to work, made a turn, and realized something wasn't right.

"My car started to shake a little bit and the tire just fell off," she said. 
She got the car fixed and filed a police report because she thought it was odd that all the lug nuts on that tire had been loose.

"When I got home [at the Palmer Park Apartments] we put notes on everybody's car on the streets just to make sure to check your lug nuts. I also posted on the neighborhood app," she said. 

It was after her post that a neighbor remembered the night he saw two men tinkering with her tire and called the cops.

"The suspects told the cops they were changing a flat tire, and the cops said, 'Okay have a good day' and left," she said.

After the officers left, the two men made a quick getaway, leaving behind those loose lug nuts and leaving Nicole vulnerable behind the wheel. 

So what about those suspects?  Police later corrected their mistake and caught the men using surveillance video from that night.

One of them was found not guilty. The other served 15 months of work release. Turner says she doesn't care where they ended up, she just wants her story to be a cautionary tale for others.