I’m sitting at a stoplight, waiting to turn red. I’m watching to my left looking for a break in traffic when I see a guy coming on the cross street who veers out of his lane over the curb into the parking lot of the gas station at the corner.
“That’s odd.” I think to myself. He continues straight, over the curb out of the parking, heading right towards us. Several words then go through my mind which I won’t share with a family bulletin board.
He never breaks, takes out a few signs along the way, and slams into the driver side just ahead of where I sit, going close to full speed. This whole thing took about 3-5 seconds. I do a quick check, my wife is ok just bounced around, I’m ok, sore, but no fractures or wounds that I can tell and notice this guy get out of his car. He looks around and then starts walking down the road! I do my best to memorize his features as I dial 911 and wait for help.
My wife and I went to the ER, thankfully we are both ok except for stiff necks and a lot of muscle pain. I also have a nasty abrasion on my neck from the seatbelt. I’m threatening to tell everyone my wife tried to stangle me for spending too much time at the session, but she doesn’t find that amusing.
Looking at these photos I took today while getting it towed to be evaluated, I realize just how lucky we were and how much worse it could have been. If he had hit a little further back I could have been hurt, if I had still be driving the Miata I would probably be dead.
And to add insult to injury, I just had $1200 worth of work done on Friday. I was tempted to rip out the radiator just to see the look on the shops face when I drag it in asking for my money back.
Yikes! Thankfully you are both alright. That’s one of those “adventures” to avoid, for sure.
Hope you locate and get recompence from the guy. I hope it was his car, and that he has good insurance!.. oh, and a good sense of responsibility… though the whole occurance argues otherwise…
What is it about Saturday? I was rear-ended on Saturday May 7 while on my way home from work! I was 1/2 mile from home, stopped at a stop light with my foot on the brake, when this 17-year-old woman drives right into me! She was driving a Chevy Lumina - pushed my Chevy Blazer right into the Mazda Tribute in front of me!
Just heard from her insurance company today - they will total the Blazer and we can take the money and get it fixed, but we need to get some kind of “salvage title” from the DOL so the next person who owns the Blazer will know it’s been in a wreck. Funny thing is, the front and back bumpers are damaged, the headlights are askew due to the side panel being slightly out of line, the trailer hitch and brake hookup are toast (she hit the hitch hard enough to push it down a bit and the brake hookup is squished), but it doesn’t look all that bad and it still drives just fine. Even passed the emission test 2 days after the wreck! So we will get it fixed and keep it.
Thanks, we’re getting better slowly, I can’t really complain given how bad it could have been. I’ll be happy with sore muscles and stiff neck thank you very much.
Give then that the guy ran and the condition of his car, I doubt he had insurance. We’ll see, my insurance company is on the case now. I’ll let them handle it.
I’m not a car guy, but several friends who are have told me it look unsalvagable. We’ll see.
We had some excitement on the way home from tonight’s session - five of the local cop cars were out and engaged in a high speed chase down one of the roads we take home … maybe we’ll find out why on the news… it was a little bit alarming to say the least.
My biggest worry that the idiot they were chasing, racing along with his lights off, was going to end up causing a bad accident or hitting some pedestrian. I still don’t know what it was all about. The “NEWs” said nothing at all. (I’m still wondering what that guy that hit beowolf was up
to.)
Ahah. Finally a report…
It was a local parole jumper, who had stolen the car and upon being chased back accross the state line into the town he stole it in, proceeded to run a merry chase. Apparently we were right at the near end of it, just at the time the coppers set the tire spikes.
Thankfully no-one appears to have been injured in the very long, very convoluted, very …ummm… ‘interestingly’ noted, block by block, turn by turn, street by alleyway, each by name in great detail in the local paper report…
OoooooooooooKay… “Gee honey… let’s go retrace that chase route with the kiddies today. I’ll fix egg salad! It’ll be a hoot! - better fill the gas tank, it’s a long one.”
edited once to add my worry.
edited a second time to note the “report”
ex was hit by an uninsured driver (in Ohio, it is evidently up to the responding officer as to what they think is “proof” of insurance - we didn’t find out the guy had none until 5 days later!). Our insurance company was great - we had a check for the value of our car in less than a week, minus deductable.
However, we didn’t get the deductable back for 5 years! Yep - the guy had to pay the insurance company back first, we were last. But, we DID get it back!
Hope things work out smoothly for you - I know it can be a real hastle.
So, Beowulf - how’s your insurance situation going?
The driver who hit me had insurance. It moved along quite smoothly until the last few days.
The insurance company totalled my Blazer because repairs will cost more than 80% of the retail value of the vehicle. Because it’s been totalled, the Department of Licensing is cancelling the registration - regardless of the fact that the Blazer passed the emission test 2 days after the wreck and regardless of the fact that I’ve been driving it for the past 2 weeks and not leaving a trail of parts! I can’t re-register it until it’s been inspected. It can’t be inspected until it’s repaired. And it can’t be repaired until the shop gets the parts in. I just took the Blazer in to the shop today because I was waiting for the insurance check first.
So now we wait. And now we’re back to one vehicle. What fun. NOT It’s either have my husband take me to work an hour early, or take the bus, along with all the drug addicts headed to their rehab meeting. The part of town I now work in has been going downhill over the past 15 years or so. I can’t walk around outside to kill time, because this is the red light district, and that’s what the men driving by will think I’m after. I’m not going to drop my husband off and drive our new van and park it in this part of town, so I guess I’ll just have to hang out in the break room for an hour.
Finally got back to playing yesterday, my shoulder still twinges but it is getting better so hopefully just a little more time is needed to heal.
The guy didn’t have any insurance, wasn’t even his car, oh, and had a blood alcohol volume that was twice the legal limit in Texas. Luckily I have uninsured motorist coverage but now I have to go through the work of getting money from my insurance company and buying a new car. A big car, maybe a Hummer. Luckily my wife is an attorney so I’m going to let her handle the paperwork.
Still, I remind myself, it could have been much, much worse. Side airbags are your friends.
I’m surprised they totaled your Blazer, usually they go for repairs, I think it ends up cheaper for them. I had a friend who was in an accident with an old car, just paid for the week before, and he was sure the car was totaled, yet his insurance company wanted to rebuild it.
Mine was totaled, but as the pics at the start of the thread show, that’s not too surprising. Still dissapointing, I was hoping to get another 5-7 years of easy driving out of it before it started falling appart. At least my insurance company gave me decent money for it.
Now I get to buy a new car, oh joy, dealing with car salesmen, just what I want to do on my weekends (with apologies to any care salesmen reading). Some folks get a thrill out of neogtiation, I don’t.
Be glad they totaled your vehicle. Years ago, our daughter’s truck should have been totaled but was not. The frame was bent and it was never right afterward. I’ve known of several folks who had the same experience.
But, after all , a vehicle is replaceable. If that’s the worst, then you did come out very lucky.
The way folks drive around here, and the shape they are in while driving, it’s a wonder there are not even more accidents…
Yikes! Thankfully you are both alright. That’s one of those “adventures” to avoid, for sure.
I thought I was making this its own post! Wrong window! 
It’s either have my husband take me to work an hour early, or take the bus, along with all the drug addicts headed to their rehab meeting. The part of town I now work in has been going downhill over the past 15 years or so. I can’t walk around outside to kill time, because this is the red light district, and that’s what the men driving by will think I’m after. I’m not going to drop my husband off and drive our new van and park it in this part of town, so I guess I’ll just have to hang out in the break room for an hour.