Thank God my kid is ok!! Check this out!

[AndyA6]

Soooooo, I get "the call" at 9 a.m. yesterday in the office, did not understand a word since my daughter was just freaked out. But the Ambulance was already there and the EMT then talked to me telling me which Hospital they go, that our Mazda 3 is toast and all that.
I don't know about you guys but that moment is not a good one, the sinking feeling.....

First feelgood:- Turns out that my kid's injuries were not that bad. She actually stayed with the UHP so we could go and pick her up.

When we (wife and sister) got there we passed a little traffic jam since the 2 left lanes were blocked off by the IMT.

What happened was that a guy cut her off, cars touched, kid lost control (perfect PIT), spun over 4 lanes through rush hour traffic, bounced with the rear end off the median, spun again head on into the median again, came to a halt facing traffic! Talk about some nice kidmarks

Second feelgood:- The guy took off BUT CAME BACK and told the cops that it was his fault!!! Can you believe it??? I walked over and thanked the guy who was in his early 20's.

Kids lower arm, she actually let go of the steering wheel right before the impact, this is from the airbag!! Lesson here, let go of wheel or you injure yourself even more!




"Slight damage"




Rear end bounce damage



Former front end




this is how a Mazda 3 Airbag looks like...




I don't think this is worth fixing, totalled??? I guess so!





Well, this is it. One more thing, NOBODY stopped after the crash to help or anything, first person was a cop off duty. My kid called 911 and UHP and Ambulance arrived within minutes

Be safe and a Happy 4th !!

Later,
Andy

[ccjazz]

YIKES!!

That's not a fun way to spend the 4th. Could have been much worse though, good thing the offender returned and fessed-up.

Hope your daughter has a speedy recovery!

[recycledsixtie]

Sorry to hear about this. Could have been a lot worse.

[particlewave]

Thank goodness!!!
Cars are easily replaced and what a show of responsibility on the young man's part!

[thstone]

Wow. Kudos to the kid for coming back and taking responsibility and glad that your daughter will be ok. Cars can be replaced, people cannot.

[WhipE350]

Phew glad everyone is OK Andy. Scary stuff.

[dewolf]

Originally Posted by AndyA6

NOBODY stopped after the crash to help or anything,

Glad everyone's ok. That sucks that nobody stopped. I witnessed an accident recently and just stopped my car and ran across three lanes of traffic to help the get the kids out of the car. Some people are just a-holes..

[coreseller]

I just got one of those calls a few weeks back, turned out to not be too bad but I know the hair raising helpless feeling you described. Glad to hear she's OK, that is really all that matters.

Two resources for those with young drivers:

Tire Rack Street Survival A one day school put on by BMW Club and Tire Rack, primarily deals with car control and limits. They conduct these all over the country. Cost is $75

Fleabay seller "onlinepartbin", out of Texas. They will FedEx you prepainted (you supply VIN and Paint Code to them) body panels or bumper covers at very reasonable prices. Don't ask why I know of them...

[jotoole]

Your daughter is indeed fortunate! Please mention that she was wearing her seatbelt. She had to be, or she would have airbag injuries to collar bone, ribs, etc.. from air bag.
Forget the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock hand placement on steering wheel. Use the 9 and 3 clock positions. Minimize air bag injuries to arms. Observe where police officers grasp the wheel. Too often, I see they have only one hand on steering wheel, at bottom of wheel, including our former police chief (major mid-west city.)
I do go to 10 and 2 positions in tight situations.