Howard Wilson Laporte, 64, killed, after a rear tire separates from his SUV, causing his vehicle to overturn westbound McDowell Road in Phoenix, Arizona

A fatal car wreck forced police to close part of McDowell Road in east Phoenix on Thursday morning, according to a Phoenix police spokesman. Howard Wilson Laporte, 64, was traveling westbound on McDowell Road at 12:30 a.m. in an SUV on Thursday when the tread on his rear tire began to separate, said Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix police spokesman. Investigators believe Laporte lost control of the SUV when the tire separated and slammed the vehicle into the side of the road, Thompson said. Laporte's vehicle rolled over and was ejected, but three nurses saw the wreck and responded immediately to provide medical attention to him, Thompson said. Despite the efforts of the nurses, Laporte died at a hospital Thursday morning, he said. The collision left the westbound lanes of McDowell Road closed near Galvin Parkway and caused traffic restrictions in the eastbound lanes of McDowell, Thompson said.