Car totalled... I wasn't.

Almost didn't make it home tonight. Highway was slick with light rain. Guy in a mini-van in the next lane and a bit in front of me, decided to jump into my lane. My brakes locked up, I got hit on the Driver's side, and slammed into the wall of the exit ramp; one lane over.

A young Black couple stopped to help me. By the Grace of God, I walked away from the accident with only a headache, and a bruised left wrist. It was a miracle! (The guy who hit me was fine).

Got checked out by the ambulance crew, talked to the cops a bit. One of them was holding a Streamlight Strion when he walked up to the side door of the ambulance. I'm not sure, but the Officer either put the light into the top of his boot, or he had one there already. (Accident took place at about 12:30 Midnight, while I was driving home from work; on the Grand Central). I'm happy to be alive and uninjured. I got the young Black man's name and number. I'll be thanking him and his girl, properly and soon.

Would just like to say..... God is great..... and be sure your car has anti-lock brakes.

That's one thing my next car (which I will be buying very soon) will have.

eeeek! I'm really glad your okay bro, what an experience that musta been. I can imagine the sounds and adrenaline rush too. Thank god you and everyone involved are okay.

Thanks.

I'm surprisingly calm. It's weird, but I can recall the entire accident. My life didn't flash before my eyes. I mostly recall seeing the passenger's side air-bag go off.... and I just knew my car was totalled. Was very relieved when I realized I wasn't bleeding.

Scary story. I'm glad you're okay! :candle:

TigerhawkT3 said:

Scary story. I'm glad you're okay! :candle:

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You're not the only one.... My elderly mom was glad too.

Just remembered, I flagged down a kind-hearted cabbie who was on his way home. After I told him what happened, he agreed to take me home first.

Glad you and everyone else are OK.

I think it's cool and certanily validates your CPF credentials that you ID'd the officers light.

BIGIRON said:

Glad you and everyone else are OK.

I think it's cool and certanily validates your CPF credentials that you ID'd the officers light.

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Part of me is hoping he might be a flashaholic, and finds this thread. :thumbsup:

Glad to hear you're allright. Keep an eye on that sore wrist just in case.

So was the guy in minivan found at fault?

I myself was rearended not too long ago. The car was totalled to the tune of $30,000.00. I was not injured and felt fine for a couple of days. I went to the doctor the next day to get checked out. He said wait for about three days and that is when it will really start to hurt.

After about two days my arm started hurting and two of my fingers were numb. Turns out it was from whiplash.

I have settled with the insurance company for property damage but not for personal injury. It has been eight months since the accident and I will settle this month, or start the settlement.

No lawyers yet. It will depend on what the insurance company offers.

To: NA8 ~

Thanks. Wrist is feeling better. But still keeping an eye on it.
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To: jzmtl ~

To his credit, the other driver did admit to swerving into my lane. Still waiting on the police report. Hopefully the Officer remembered to put the guy's admission into the report.

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To: raythompson ~

I'm feeling fine, but it has only been 15 hours since the accident.

I hope that feeling stays.... I'm actually scheduled to take an exam for a State position on Saturday. It'll last most of the day. Wish me luck.

Hope you get every penny you are owed.

Well on the bright side, at least you don't have to pay for a a new car yourself.

WOW!!! Accidents SUCK!!!

Very Glad you are OK though...

Get some pics of the car if you can, its always interesting to see what happened to the vehical involved. I certainly hope the car had no personal attachment to you. I had a car that I dumped tons of time and money into, only to be hit by some idiot who wasn't paying attention to what he was doing.:duck::scowl::shakehead

What kind of car was it?

To: jzmtl & DaFABRICATA ~

I'll likely only get Blue Book value for the car. Which is less than the money I've invested in her to keep her running reliably for the past 8 years. Still, the money I get will be better than nothing. I have a job, and some savings. Car loan won't be a problem for me. I also have access to another car that I can use to get to work.... At least until I can get a copy of the Police Report, contact the other guy's insurance company and talk to them about their rental policy.

My car is over at the Tow company's storage yard. Can't get pics. The Driver's side front quarter panel is crushed. Damage to the door as well. (Had to kick the door open). Both air-bags went off. The smoke from the blasting caps in the air-bags was so intense that even one of the good Samaritans standing outside of my car could smell it. I found it ironic that my Driver's side mirror was fine. (I've had to replace it twice in 8 years due to careless drivers knocking it off).

It was a grey, 1998, Ford Escort. I named her Molly. So yeah, I was attached to that car.

She was reliable as Hell. Never broke down on me or left me stranded. Her one weak point was the lack of anti-lock brakes.... and it reared its ugly head at the worst possible moment. Whichever car I get next, oh yeah; definitely going to have anti-lock brakes. Since the crash was strong enough that both air-bags went off, my insurance company will likely classify it as totalled.

Glad you're alright Moncrom!

jugg2 said:

Glad you're alright Monocrom!

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Thanks! It's a miracle I survived, and with no broken bones. No side-curtain air-bags on my car. The mess on the Driver's side is just ugly. Yay for God and seatbelts!

Glad to hear you are feeling better than your car. Poor car... :mecry:
But it gave it's "life" to save yours. Most are designed that way now, so it did what it was supposed to do to the very end.
Keep us posted on how it all works out.

It looks like you dodged the proverbial bullet. I'm glad you're OK. Roads after a light rain are actually the most dangerous. That's one reason I never go cycling then. I'm not sure if even antilock brakes would have helped here. If the roads are slippery, there's only so fast you decelerate.

I'll also add that the driving habits in this part of the country are probably the worst anywhere. As much as you've said you hate it, you'll be way safer if you can go back to taking the subways. I don't know how you can deal with all the stupidity on the roads these days. My blood pressure doubles every time I ride in a car watching how asinine the other drivers are. It's a shame you have all this expense and inconvenience now on account of the other driver's stupidity.

I don't think NY has no fault policy, so if your insurance company are decent, they should be the middle man helping you bargin with the other guy's, and not leave you alone to do it yourself. I'm pretty sure you don't HAVE to take their first offer, you are going to have to bargin with them, with information like how much a equivelent replacement would actually cost etc. You may not get what you want but should still better than their low ball first offer.

Yikes!!! Glad to hear you're OK, Monocrom. That could have easily ended a lot worse!

On a lighter note, you know you're a flashaholic when you're rattled and in pain yet you take note of the flashlight that the LEO is holding. I think that proves that you weren't seriously injured, thank goodness.

Kudos to that couple who stopped to help you out. There are still some good people in the world.