A US Air Force officer who survived a Taliban blast was killed on holiday in Scotland - when a car tyre she was holding EXPLODED.
Captain Jenna Wilcox died in the freak accident just weeks after she finished a year-long tour in Afganistan.
Brave ... Jenna the soldier
Jenna, 27, and her hubby Scott - both US Air Force engineers - were driving through Dalkeith, Midlothian, when tragedy struck.
They had to change a tyre on their BMW Z3 when it developed a bulge. But they were unable to fit the damaged one into the boot.
So Jenna put the tyre on her lap - only for it to blow up.
The war hero - honoured with a medal last year after her Afghan convoy was hit by a bomb - was rushed to Edinburgh Western General Hospital after the accident last Saturday.
But she lost her fight for life on Thursday night.
Scott, 27, who was believed to be driving when the accident happened, suffered only minor injuries.
Jenna with Scott ... 'tragic accident'
Scottwas by Jenna's side while she was in hospital. He posted on social networking site Facebook that he was "praying for my wife".
Jenna, of Glenwood in New York State, was due to return after her holiday to the US 100th Civil Engineer Squadron's new base at RAF Mildenhall in Sussex.
While in Afghanistan she kept an internet blog to update her family and friends.
Describing how she received a medal, Captain Wilcox wrote: "At a recent awards ceremony all three engineers on the team, including myself, earned an Army Combat Action Badge.
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"The ceremony was strange in the fact that people were congratulating me for getting blown up.
"In the military we train and prepare ourselves for combat. So getting blown up or shot at is what we want to do, what we hope to do, what we should do.
"It shows we are mentally and physically tough to endure such an event and prevail. We are brave and courageous in perilous situations.
"I was on a convoy that was hit with an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). It happened in November and we were on the way back from the mission.
"I think my heart literally stopped and the next two minutes were the scariest of my life. I kept on waiting for the secondary attack, but thankfully it never came.
"Luckily, everyone was okay, no injuries, and we only had to replace the tyre on the truck."
And in January she wrote: "I know that Scott and I are being protected.
"Too many uncanny things have happened for me not to know that we will be okay."
Last night a police spokesman said: "This would appear to have been a tragic accident.
Andrew Howard, of the AA, said: "A fault in the tyre's structure may have been to blame.
"There would have been high pressure building up inside the tyre which caused the bulge and the explosion.
"It is extremely rare."
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol ... -tyre.html
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