John Ellis, right, died after being struck by a loose truck wheel on Interstate 5.

31-year-old John Ellis of Bothell, who was riding in the passenger seat of the van, was killed instantly. The driver, Adam Milzarek, was very shaken but not seriously injured.

Milzarek says he was sitting next to his friend one minute, then Ellis was suddenly gone.

"I didn't know it was going to kill him," he said tearfully.

Milzarek says all he remembers is seeing a cloud of dust, then reaching for his friend and co-worker in the passenger seat.

"Right after the accident I looked over and tried grabbing him, and there was nothing there. And so I kick out to get out of my door and ran over to his side and I was kind of freaking out and tried to lift the roof off and I couldn't do nothing," he said.

Two tires connected to a heavy metal axle came off this semi, they bounced over the median and, with the impact of over 100 miles per hour, crushed the rig.

"That kind of stuff shouldn't be allowed to happen," Milzarek said.

Ellis' father says he saw the news story on TV on Friday afternoon, but didn't know his own son was the victim until he got the call late Friday night.

"It didn't dawn on me that it was my own son," Arthur Ellis said. "I don't know why these things happen and I suppose none of us do. He was just in the wrong place."

John's dad said his son appeared to be invincible. John Ellis was abandoned as a boy in Korea then adopted by Arthur Ellis. He was an Army ranger and survived missions in Bosnia. He had just married the love of his life with whom he had a 4-month-old daughter.

"A truly wonderful boy and a wonderful man, and I'm very proud of John in all that he did."

Democon Container Services owns the semi truck that lost the wheels. The company told KOMO 4 News that it extends its condolences to the family. The company also says it is proud of its safety record and says it is cooperating with the investigation.