Tire fell off while riding downhill

[bepaul]

This happened to my wife riding a Rad Mini Step Through. Broken arm and lots of bruises and cuts. Bike had been checked over by mechanics at Rad store, so no issues with assembly. There is a potential design fault in that the recessed areas on the fork where the quick release skewer nuts land on the forks are so close in diameter to the nuts that the skewer can work loose without the rider noticing. First indication is under braking on a downhill when the force is enough to rip the wheel clean off. On a normal bike, quick release coming loose is easy to notice. Not so on this one. Mechanic at store told me this was the second one they have had.

[Rad1001]

Wow.  So is the RadRunner plus not a safe e bike?  This sounds like a manufacturing/design defect. Can this be prevented or fixed?  Has it been fixed? I was looking to buy a RadRunner Plus but now I am having second thoughts.  Should I be worried?

Is this issue due to the shock on the RadRunner plus?  Would the RadRunner 1 with no front shock be more safe?

[rwstreb]

It sounds like all of these, with the exception of the snapped axle, might be what Rad warns about in the manual and one of the many attached warning tags. It says to make sure it is properly tightened, leaving a print on your hand from the lever as mentioned earlier, and to double-check before each use. That sounds annoying, but commercial trucks and aircraft have checklists to go through before each trip. It might seem excessive, but that setup is a bit tricky. The thing I worry about is the axle breaking. That is pretty thin for my liking with all that weight, vibration and speed. I know it's the way it's done nowadays, but it could have been bigger.