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Topic: Witness to disaster (Read 2715 times) previous topic - next topic

Witness to disaster

So today a buddy and I decide to go to Subway for lunch (a disaster in itself, but that's another story). When we turned onto the street the Subway is on there was a very, very nice bright yellow '32 Ford coming. We had plenty of time so we pulled out, and drove about a mile with this '32 Ford behind us, admiring it in the rearview mirror. When we got to the Subway, whos parking lot entrance is just before a set of lights at a very busy intersection, we turned in and the '32 continued past us. He drove through the (green) light, and just as he was on the other side of the intersection a red Tempo pulled out of a convenience store parking lot right in front of him. He had about zero second's notice - I saw only a flicker of '32 Ford brake lights before he piled into the  side of the Tempo at approximately 40 MPH. We parked and ran across the street to the scene. Nobody was hurt (miraculously, since the '32 did not have seat belts) but the '32 was extensively damaged. The Tempo was written off too, but who cares about Tempo's?
 
That poor '32 was MINT before the crash - we were admiring its condition with the very upset driver. I mean, even inside the fenders was spotless. It was a show car of very high quality and you could tell the guy put a LOT of work into it. It had a Mustang II front suspension, an EFI 5.0 HO/T5 drivetrain, 9" rear, complete custom white leather interior - the car was BUILT. The accident destroyed the front fenders and cowl/hood (fenders are required by law here) and the front half of the frame was bent up pretty badly. The guy said he could fix it with a new frame and front sheet metal (the car was all metal) but was rather upset at the prospect of having to do so. He also had it appraised (didn't say what the value was) so the insurance company should not be able to bone him. Needless to say the Tempo driver was keeping a very low profile. I gave him and the police my contact info in case they needed a witness and left, shaking my head at such needless destruction of a very special car.
 
Unfortunately I did not have a camera, or even my camera phone, with me. I had thought about going back and taking pics but traffic was getting really backed up so I didn't bother.
 
Seeing this accident did remind me of one importannt issue though: Always have your car appraised!!! Otherwise the insurance company will just see it as an old beater!
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #1 –
That sucks,i always worry about that in both my 75 coug and my 87 bird.

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #2 –
The tempo 'driver' should be beaten senseless then dragged through the desert behind a scared horse for a month, how could you miss a yellow car! bah that sucks :disappoin
1980 birds X 3, 1982 bird, 1984 XR7, 1988 TC
 

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #3 –
That sucks,  Reminds me of something I saw once.  There was this beautiful blue 32 ford,  sitting on a trailor at the Double N Dinner a few years ago.  I walked up to the guy and said,  "Man,  thats a nice car".  he said,  "Yeah,  used to be".  I kinda like,  WTF.  he tells me to look at the other side,  I walk around and the whole passenger side was destroyed!  His wife had put it into a telephone pole and a ditch.

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #4 –
Quote
how could you miss a yellow car!


The person might have actually been concentrating on the car and not the road.  I've seen that happen before.
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Paul Flockhart
The person might have actually been concentrating on the car and not the road. I've seen that happen before.

I bet you have - I work on RCMP cars and I see a lot of wrecked cruisers that were parked on the side of the road with the lights flasing and people plow into 'em. Apparently people are "drawn to the light" and instead of avoiding the car they are attracted to it.
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Paul Flockhart
The person might have actually been concentrating on the car and not the road.  I've seen that happen before.

I ride around in a 51 merc a lot in the summer and this is very common. People just start staring at the car and point their car right at it not even thinking. The Merc

I can't even imagine how pissed the guy in the 32 was... I read the first sentence and wasn't sure if I wanted to keep reading or not...

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #7 –
my freinds totaled 3 cars and his moms 2004 (brand new at the time) dodge stratus goting through a red light looking at a shelby cobra replica. Kinda funny, being as he is a chevy guy. Aperently he went up one the median and his underbody got stuck on it before he even realized what happend. And the he pushed a f-250 and a nother two cars in to the intersection. He got away with a $120 fine for improper look out and $50 extra per 6 months on his car insurance. He moms car was within $100 of being totaled (on a $40,000 car!) and still has a rim that was all scratched up from the wreck, because if it was replaced it would have gone over the worth of the car. Noone was hurt minus a broken nose from an airbag.
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #8 –
Quote
I ride around in a 51 merc

One of my 2 dream cars is a 50 merc.  Now I'm jealous......
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Paul Flockhart
One of my 2 dream cars is a 50 merc.  Now I'm jealous......

No, this is the part that'll make you jealous... I've been given the chance to drive it...





but declined due to lack of power steering  :disappoin . The last thing I want to do is mess up that car. So what's the other dream car?

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #10 –
Thats a nice looking 51 merc.....

so is there anything done under the hood ;)

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #11 –
Not sure on the full specs, but it's a 302 with nitrous. Not a drag car by any means, but a cruiser with some balls  :D Besides, if he wants a drag car, all he's gotta do is finish putting the dragster together.

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #12 –
Quote from: Thunder Chicken
Seeing this accident did remind me of one importannt issue though: Always have your car appraised!!! Otherwise the insurance company will just see it as an old beater!


Those words cannot be truer. I just did that myself. Getting it appraised was way out of my way, and it cost a bit more than I'd hoped. But in the end, the effort was well worth it and now the car can be insured for its true value instead of its inferred value. Previously, if I'd been in an accident with the convertible, the most I'd get from my insurance company was a measly $8K. Now...it's a hell of a lot more than that. Talk about peace of mind!

After my experience with the appraisal process, I'm writing up a detailed article about it and will post on my site shortly. Carm, you're welcome to borrow it for here or your site (or both). I'm also trying to make it universal for both Canadians and Americanites. If you see something that maybe I didn't, feel free to let me know so I can amend the article.

I cannot stress how important that point is. If your car is in nice shape, and you're keeping it, get it appraised!!!! Don't let this kind of disaster happen to you.

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #13 –
That sounds like an excellent idea, Eric, especially since to most people (including insurance adjusters) our babies are nothing but mid-late 80's beaters. Perhaps a stickypost in the Greatest Hits section once you're finished would be the best way to spread the word.

Back on topic: Just heard back from the mounties. It appears I have to go fill out a witness's report. The Tempo driver is claiming the '32 ran a red light and was speeding. The '32 driver has nothing to fear - that light was definitely green, and since the '32 driver was directly behind me up to the Sbway turn off I can vouch that at least up until then the '32 was NOT speeding, in fact he was probably going under the limit as I had just slowed down to turn, as I just told the mountie on the phone. Not that it would matter - the accident happened at a parking lot exit PAST the intersection, not in the intersection itself. Even had the light been red it still would've been the Tempo driver's responsibility to make sure the traffic was clear before pulling out of that parking lot.
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Re: Witness to disaster

Reply #14 –
Make sure the Tempo driver doesn't get anything his way.
What a shame.
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