No one was hurt and I was able to safely stop the car on the highway shoulder.

I'm not sure if my car's tire failure incident had anything to do with the Ford Explorer Firestone tire lawsuit and scandal that was going on at the same time that I had this tire blowout.

This specific Firestone tire may have just been a little old and abused by my aggressive driving phase  during my time at the University of Florida.

Also this could have been caused by the set up of my apartment complex's parking lot which had high and rough curbs and small spots. The sidewall may have been rubbed a few times too many.