My son was in a bad wreck... New car safety rocks!

[Black Dog]

Last night, after finally getting to bed, I got 'The Call'...  The one no parent wants to get at 10:30 in the evening.  "Dad, I'm OK, but Danny and I were just in a bad accident".

Heart pumping through my chest, I get the location (5 miles from home), throw on some clothes, and head out to pick him up. 

As I head up HWY 164, I can see emergency vehicle lights way up ahead...  I get closer, and there were 12 cop cars (local, county sheriff, and state patrol), two fire trucks (big lights to illuminate the scene), and three ambulances...  A Sheriff is directing traffic around the mess, and as I pull up I identify myself as the dad of one of the boys.  He has me pull over by his squad, and walk back to the scene.  This was what I saw as I approached...



My son was the passenger in the black car (2006 Mazda 6).



The other driver was driving a 'newer' Mercury Cougar (small, 2 door coupe)...



My son and his friend were southbound on HWY 164 with a 55mph limit.  The other car was eastbound on Hickory st (his was a 'T' intersection), and he would have been turning right or left.  My son told me that the other guy was coming so fast, that he knew he was not gonna stop.  He blew the stop, and they T-Boned him.

I am amazed that both my son and his friend walked away with nothing but scratches.  The Mazda worked just as it should have in an accident of this type.  The front of the car 'crumpled' as designed, the air bags deployed (both front and side curtain), and seat belts held them firm.  The driver of the Cougar was not so lucky...  Close to 45 minutes to extract him, using the Jaws of Life.  No word on his condition, what with privacy laws and all...

I'm glad I've impressed upon my boys the importance of seat belts...  This was the second such call I've gotten (last being 8 years ago, when my oldest son was a passenger in a rollover accident). 

Once I took him home, I stayed up with him for a few hours till he seemed less 'jacked up'...  I'm sure we both didn't sleep too well last night.

He will be a 'hurtin unit' once he wakes up today, but being able to say where it hurts beats the alternative...

Hug 'em, tell 'em ya love 'em...  Life is fragile 

Black Dog

[Ice]

Man one hell of a wreck, glad your son and his friend are ok. Hope the other driver is too.
That is the call I fear whenever my Daughter is under way.
I guess new cars have their upsides and this is one of them.

[Serk]

They sure don't make 'em like they used to!

(THANKFULLY!)

Glad he's okay!

[R J]

Steve, glad to hear your son isn't hurt too much.

Other than the sore and stiffness he will feel this morning.

What is funny, just before I opened this post I watched a 59 Chevy entangle (a created crash) with a late model Chevy.

That poor old 59, it would have been a miracle if anyone lived in it.

Thank the Lord, I never got one of those calls with any of my kids, but I did get called out from a dead sleep to go take charge of an accident close to where I lived as all units were busy.   Reason we couldn't drink off duty, ya never knew when you would have to go start the motor or the Cruiser and take off.   We worked 24/7 in reality.

[Disco]

Glad your son in OK, Steve!

[old2soon]

Thank GOD he is all right Steve. I can NOT imagine getting"THE CALL". I drove ambulance for a couple of years and thankfully NEVER for a family member. I say a lot of prayers when the daughter is out with a friend or she is driving my cage. Take care my friend. RIDE SAFE.

[Daniel Meyer]

Wow. Just wow. To walk away from that (both of 'em) is a miracle.

Glad they are okay. Hope the other driver comes out okay too.

[Chrisj CMA]

Wow, thank God they made it so well, I hope the other guy has a good outcome as well!   Its hard not to keep going over what could have happened but trust me, try not to, just thank the Lord they were in His hands.

[G-Man]

Whew!

[Patrick]

They sure do make vehicles today far better than in the good old days. Its hard to convince some of that, until something like this happens. Glad the boys are still here and will be OK. I sure wish we could figure out a way of making drivers safer.

[Momz]

Glad your son is OK. Cars are made to be replaceable, kids aren't.

[hoosierdaddy]

Steve,

I just glanced at the title and didn't want to think about this, as my daughter is having graduation this weekend, and you know how this time of year is...  I just didn't want to think about it... 

Being one of yours, my heart goes out to you man...  I sure am glad you got it through the boys about safety/buckling up, etc...  My girls won't let the vehicle go until they are buckled (no matter who's driving!). 

Thank the lord that they were safe after a nasty one like that.  Sure hope and pray not to get "that call" ever...  See you in a few weeks, and we'll talk about it.   Be safe, everybody!

Paul (Hoosier Daddy) Weber,
Indiana  #370 

[cookiedough]

wow, that is a pretty bad crash one of the worst I have seen.  The worst was a head on collision behind my house on hwy both doing 60 mph an older ford f150 crossed centerline hit left front of newer ford fusion.  I was outside and looked up and saw the tail end of the huge bang.  The outcome was not good for both with the fusion lady dead instantly.  Old ford pickup he lived but was med flighted to hospital very serious condition.   Nothing I could do by the time I ran over there the cops were there to take over and ambulance soon after.  Didn't really want to go over and look probably would've lost it for sure.  

Glad outcome went as well as could be expected seeing how bad the collision was.  

[saddlesore]

It's a bitch to get that call.  Glad your son is OK .

Any word on alcohol or texting or any distracted driving?

[98 T]

Wow Steve... I'm glad your son is ok!! That's a call no one wants to get.  I'm glad he's ok... I'm glad they designed the car to do what it did  and the air bags worked.


The gravity may sink in over the next couple days on what happened... be there for him.

Loth

[wiggydotcom]

Glad to hear your Son came out ok, Steve. Today's energy absorbing cars with their crush zones do work. As others have said, I hope the other driver doesn't have any major injuries.

[The Anvil]

Yep, back in the day the whole car was a crumple zone. Glad to see the boys are okay.

[Xtracho]

Blessed that they are OK after such an impact. And I agree, engineering on newer vehicles has taken driver/passenger safety to new levels.

[T.P.]

Glad to hear he walked away from it.  so many don't.  T.P.