Reading about this accident and Ken Meeks it appears to me that Ken was a very exceptional and experienced Model T owner, maintaining his cars to the highest standards.

I was wondering if it might be possible to examine the car and possibly determine what exactly happened to that tire? Is it possible that Ken added air at a local gas station that might have had a faulty pressure gauge? The air pressure in the other tires could be checked. If a defect is found in the tire or tube, the other tires and tubes could be checked for similar defects. I could go on and on, but I for one would like to know what caused this accident so that we can prevent this from happening again.

Just a few questions that might be answered:

What was the tire brand?
What was the age of the tire and tube?
What was the air pressure? The speed of the car?
The mileage on the tire ?
Condition of the rim and wheels?
The condition of the road at the scene of the accident?

My prayers are with Ken and his family.

Arnold - I agree as can be seen in the original thread, but tires do blow out from time to time and with the information that Ken have modified the T with 4 wheel disc brakes may very well turn out to be the culprit. If you read in another thread several have experienced blow-outs and the right reaction seems to be to let the car slowly roll into the shoulder - not slamming 4 wheel brakes to stop, which MIGHT have been Kens reaction. With the original brakes, you would still have a relatively slow braking so the original brakes would be foregiving if you reacted with slamming the brakes.
But thats all spekulation on my part - a "NTSB" kind of board could be useful here.

Arnold, I have to assume that, in view of the number of very experienced Model T people there, some serious investigation is taking place. I kind of gathered that from Stan's comment that he has seen pictures, but that others have actually examined the car.

Jeff Haugen posted the following police report in another thread. That's the answer on the condition of the road:

All available information for
incident number 11102595.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Incident Number: 11102595 Incident Date/Time: 7/20/2011 10:00:00 AM
MSP District: 2100 Incident Contact: MN STATE PATROL DISTRICT 2100 - (507) 285-7406
Number of Individuals: 2
Number of Vehicles: 1

Location: MN HWY 30 AT 341ST AVE FILLMORE COUNTY Road Type: BLACK TOP
Milepost: 254 Road Condition: DRY
County: FILLMORE Number of Lanes: 2
Crash Type: ROLLOVER Divided/Undivided: UNDIVIDED ROADWAY
Incident Classification: SERIOUS INJURY Hazardous Material: NOT PRESENT

Assisting Agencies:
FILLMORE COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE

Person 1: MEEK, KENNETH W , 64 , OF ST CLAIR MO , DRIVER OF VEH 1 , Phys. Cond. : CRITICAL CONDITION
Person 2: MEEK, MARJORIE E , 68 , OF ST CLAIR MO , PASSENGER OF VEH 1 , Phys. Cond. : INJURY - NON LIFE THREATENING

Vehicle 1:
1915 FORD T

Incident Description: VEH E/B ON HWY 30, LOST CONTROL AND ROLLED TWICE. BOTH OCCUPANTS EJECTED.

Information Complete: INFORMATION BELIEVED COMPLETE
Last Updated: 7/20/2011 3:09:07 PM

Michael, see my comment on Ken's disk brakes in the other thread...

Arnold, further to the above....

I don't know any of this for sure (seems to be a recurrent theme in my posts these days, but all I can go by is what I know), but I'll take a stab.

What was the tire brand?
I don't know which brand Ken uses on his cars, but he's a parts dealer and - I'm pretty sure - spent the winter getting his '15 ready for the touring season. It will be one of the major brands available these days for Ts.

What was the age of the tire and tube?
Probably less than a year old.

What was the air pressure?
No idea.

The speed of the car?
When touring, Ken generally drives faster than the average of the other cars, i.e. he will be at the high end of the tour's speed range. Just looking at the fact that the car rolled twice, he has to have been moving along at a fair clip.

The mileage on the tire ?
Probably less than 1,00 miles (see above).

Condition of the rim and wheels?
I assume good, since he had worked on the car so recently, but the people who have actually examined the car will have to say.

Hope this helps a little until more concrete information comes along.

Well,if the car was going fast enough for the rim to leave grooves,he had to be going at a good clip.I am also wondering if slamming on brakes with the front wheel comprimised if that didnt cause the rear ward tilt of the axle,breaking the perch and causeing the wreck.Also with 1 tire off the rim,when applying brakes,that would change the amount of traction for 1 of the front wheels,causeing what I would think to be a sudden jerk of the steering wheel.Stock on a 15 would be a 4-1 ratio so tha would make for a quick surprising jerk of the steering wheel.
These front ends werent designed for brakes.It would be good to look into added support for that axle and such when adding breaks.

I do remember my local friend Heath Hahn said when he wrecked his 14 back in 55 it was a wishbone failure at the oil pan.The car went front end down,and flipped over.
In this case,the car "rolled",so that would make me think the tire comeing off the rim would cause the car to go 1 sided,prompting a roll over.

Mack, there were no front brakes. The tire coming off prompting a rollover makes sense.

Can't see speed not being a factor. Even from my arm chair. A double rollover seems rather violent.

I am anxiously awaiting a few more facts. It is frustrating. I am sure that a considerable amount of discussion will be necessary. I want to see several good photos of the wheels and front axle/suspension. I have been checking for updates about twenty times a day since this occurred.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2

Wayne, considering MTFCI's concern about privacy and liability, I doubt you'll see any photos (even here on an MTFCA forum). Ain't gonna be released any time soon....

Wayne

The car is inside Ken's trailer. I assume it will be transported back to Missouri by someone. At that time, Dick might be able to take all the photos he wants.

I believe it is totally out of the hands of the MTFCI, and it is not their responsibility. They are more concerned with the health of Ken and Marge, and rightfully so.