New tires just dont tear from being a little old. They would have to be WAY old and WAY dry rotted to do that. Sounds like the "tire changer" had a boo-boo with the machine... Probably got stuck on the machine and would not go on the wheel any further so he backed up the machine and shoved it thru the sidewall (about the same time your wheel got damaged) There is more to mounting a low profile tire than normal tires. If not done correctly with the proper equipment this can easily happen..