Dual Wheels Broke off?

Firstly I'd like to say Gday from down under.

Im new to this forum & new to truck driving, I have a question about some wheels that broke away but I'll give you some of my (short) driving history first.

Im 39, been driving stick shift cars since I was 18 (never owned a auto).
I was a brick layer until 3 years ago when I decided that my back is getting tired.
Spent the next two years operating a forklift in a paint factory (Long story short - I was made redundant because I need carpel tunnel surgery on my hand from brick laying).
I attained my HR road ranger licence & started operating a automatic twin steer water cart for almost one year (mostly off road working in new estates).
3 months ago I attained my HC licence started a new job with a tipper truck company & finally gained some road ranger experience (49 tonne Kenworth T401 with a cat C12 if that helps).
----------

I was sacked/fired last week because the left front drive dual wheels broke off on the freeway (could have killed me or other road users) but I managed to stop safely & protect the other road users from the one tire I could see running next to the trailer ( I dont know where the other tire is I never saw it or found it). To me the truck was driving like normal & smooth before the wheel broke off, I only realize that something major was wrong when the truck suddenly sunk & pulled to the left. At 6am that morning I performed my usual pre start check which includes a visual inspection of the wheel nuts with a torch & they all appeared to be tight (no wheel nut locators installed). I arrived on the job sight at 7.30 (due to site rules I waited around the corner) & received my first load at 8.05. At 8.38 on the freeway traveling at 95 - 100 klms an hour the tires came off.

Upon inspection of the damage, all but 3 lugs have broken off & there is some evidence on the alloy rim that the that the wheels had been loose before they came off. I was given a lift home & the truck was towed back to the yard, a few hours later the manager has called me & said that the wheels MUST have been shaking violently for quite a while & I MUST be brain dead to not notice the vibrations. His very well known in the industry as an experienced & respect truck operator. Knowing this I have always been honest & up front knowing he will see straight through me if I lie but he refuses to believe that the truck was operating normal & smooth before the wheels fell off even tho I have dash cam to back up what I say.

At this point I should mention a rookie mistake I made two weeks earlier.

Two weeks prior to this indecent I handed in my truck for a service, I was given another truck & told that my truck should be ready tomorrow but I didn't receive a phone call telling me to pick it up. At the end of the following day I considered calling the workshop about my truck but I didn't want to seem pushy, so I drove back to my yard (25 minutes away) & parked it there for the nite. The next morning I was on site being loaded when the manager called to say my truck was ready yesterday & I was suppose to bring it back last nite because now he has another driver waiting for the truck Im in. I said sorry for the miss understanding & I'll swap trucks with him at the end of the day. I returned back to the workshop/yard at 4.00 that day but the other (experienced) driver didn't get back until 7.00, it was dark & raining when he jumped out of my truck & he said " there's something wrong with my truck but it should be fine for now ", he said he doesn't know exactly what it is but its very important that I tell someone in the work shop soon. He finished with saying " by the way I had to back off one of the brakes on your trailer " (what ever that means). Unfortunately because it was 7.00 there were no mechanics & the few guys who were there, were all heading for there cars eager to get home.

When I drove back to my yard I couldn't feel anything different, so I had no idea what he was talking about & no idea what to write in my log book ( I now wish I wrote something???).

One week later I was in the workshop/yard to give my truck its weekly wash when the other driver walked past & asked If I had told someone in the workshop what he said, my reply was "no, but thanks for reminding me", I immediately put down the pressure washer & walked into the workshop to tell someone important what I had been told. Theres a older driver in there (in his 70s, been there for over 20 years, he opens the gates/workshop in the morning & closes them at nite) giving the two mechanics a list of jobs to be completed on one of the trucks. He seemed like the right person to tell as the manager wasn't around. I told him that the other driver said that "theres something wrong with my truck & he had to back off my brakes" he said, "yeah, I know about it, that other driver mentioned it to me too ". So I returned to finish washing my truck & basically forgot about until the manager called me (after the wheels fell off) & said " untill I can come up with a good reason that I didnt report a problem that I was told about...Iv got no more work".

I confess that I didnt write anything down & probably wasn't clear when I reported to the wrong person due to a lack of knowledge about the problem, but after saving my life, there truck & other members of the public, I didn't think I would loose my job & be held 100% responsible.

My question is:

Is it possible for wheel nuts to come loose in just a few hours & then go undetected?

 

Thank you for the reply's, I'm very relived to hear that someone else believes my version of what happened. Uncleal13's story about the tanker sounds like what has happend to me.
Up to this point Iv been kicking my self that I didn't write something in my log book when I was told about it but as x1Heavy pointed out it would've been even better to call the manager & say I'm not driving it until the problem is rectified, from now on that's exactly what I'll do. The theory that someone loosen the lug nuts is not impossible but its very very unlikely. I think Iv been very unlucky because a unknown problem was reported to me & I took inadequate actions, then had a big mechanical failure making me look really bad. This has been a big lessen for me & I guarantee that I wont be making this mistake again.

Cheers for your support, it means a lot to me

The first link (Part 1) is just some sample footage 3 minutes before, The second link (Part 2) shows the moment the wheels broke off just after 8:41:20am (No audio)

Part1


Part2