EASTON, Mass. (AP) – A man driving on a rural road early Sunday morning hit a huge truck tire dragged into the middle of the street, swerved off the road, and died when the car hit a tree.

Sometime between midnight and 3 a.m., someone moved two large tires into the middle of Chestnut Street, one tire in each lane of the rural road, according to Easton police detective Michael Fox.

Fox said that a nearby farmer used the tires to block access to his fields.

“On occasion, someone’s been taking them and putting them out in the street,” Fox said. “They didn’t get out there themselves.”

The driver, who was in his early 20s, hit one of the tires at about 3 a.m. in his Ford Explorer. The vehicle swerved off the road, hit a tree, and burst into flame. The driver was killed, Fox said. His identity was not immediately released.

AP-ES-12-21-03 1236EST