Your First Wreck

Last year in february the 1st I was going to a friend's house, took another route because there was a traffic jam in the street I use to take. I stopped at a corner, I turned my head to the left to see if there were cars coming in the intersection and there was an 80's Dodge Ramcharger far away. I was too confident thinking it was going slower than it really was and decided to go. I'm at the middle of the street and WHAM!!!!! It was my "fault" because I had the stop sign, but the moron was going 30-40 mph in a 20 mph zone. It really was a hard hit.

My Maverick just got a really dented driver's side fender and a cracked a-arm. The Ramcharger's radiator was pierced with its own frame, and the whole front end was shot. Driver's side door was stuck also.

The lesson here is that Ford's better than Chrysler and GM. But you already knew that. Oh and don't be overconfident on everything you do, otherwise you could have an accident.

 

Holy crap!!

 

I flipped a 1967 Mustang fastback into some trees. I walked away but the car was totalled. I walked home and never saw the car again.

 

My first wreck was when I was around 20 years old. I was working at Martin Guitar at the time and it was the middle of winter. I was driving my red 1968 Mustang. I had just gone through an intersection were I had stopped for a red light when I hit black ice. I was only about 100 feet from the intersection and had not picked up any real speed, but there was a slight turn in the road were the ice was and the rear of the Mustang slid out as I entered the turn. The whole road was black ice. The next thing I know the Mustang was bouncing off the snowbanks from one side of the road to the other. I was completely out of control. I glanced up the road at one point and saw another driver coming toward me from the opposite direction. The other driver had to see what was going on with my car, but he never even tried to slow down or get out of the way. The left side headlight extention of the Mustang caught the front of his fender and raked all the way down the side of his car. His car,by the way, was a brand new Dodge Aspin wagon. I had pulled off the road to check out the damage to my car when the other driver came running up screaming at me for wrecking his new car. No questions like " Are you alright?", just " You fu*king bit*ch! You wrecked my car!" Nice guy. The police came and told him to shutup so they could take his statement. When I gave them mine I heard one cop refer to the Aspin driver as an a**hole. When all was said and done I drove my car to work and the Aspin was towed away. My car had less than $100 in damages. My headlight extention was broken, the headlight was broken and there was a small dent in my fender. The Aspin had almost $2700 in damages. The guy was so pissed that he tried to sue me for reckless driving. The insurance companies decided otherwise, told him he could not sue me and ruled the accident was no one's fault. So what did I learn from all this? I learned that old Fords are as tough as nails and Dodge Aspins were built like crap! I also learned just how dangerous black ice can be and never take for granted that a wet road in the winter time is just wet and not frozen.

 

Not enough bandwidth to talk about my car/motorcycle wrecks. Lord only knows why I am alive. Interesting read here. My first wreck was a motorcycle wreck, got hit by a a 68 Riviera that ran a red light, then I bounced off a dude on a 68 BSA. I ended up against a tree.
Dan

 

It was about 2am. On a pitch dark, moonless night, I'm driving down a lonely wooded country road, so far from civilization that the ambient light of the city is hardly a glimmer on the horizon. I'm 17, and although the car is an '85 Chevette, it's my pride and joy. My first car, bought with my own money and fixed up with my own sweat. This car played a large role in making me who I am, because when you own a Chevette and you're a broke teenager, you either learn how to fix a car or you ride a bike. Lucky for me, I found that I enjoyed wrenching. But I didn't expect to be doing it that night...

Who knows why I was out there? I don't. Maybe it was because of my new found love for driving, and the freedom that comes with it. Newly liberated and nothing better to do, it wasn't the first or the last time I would just point my car in no particular direction and enjoy the ride.

Six feet from my bumper a large whitetail doe materialized in front of me, as if beamed down by Scotty from the Enterprise. My reaction time was good, but nothing would be good enough to avoid this. I was allowed just enough time to lock the manual brakes as the deer's head made contact with my driver's side headlight. Time slowed down as the animal's skull exploded, blasting gory bits of brain, blood and glass across my windshield while her instantly lifeless body swung around and caved in my fender, and was then flung limp across the other lane. A metallic grinding sound erupted from the left side of the car as the fender ground into the sidewall of the tire. I regained control and coasted to a stop, then got out to survey the scene.

The only light available was my one remaining headlight and a Zippo lighter, but that was enough for me to see that I could get home in this car. I had to. It could be hours before someone else drove by, I had no cell phone and it wouldn't have worked if I did. Besides, I was doing good just to buy gas for this car and paying a tow truck company to come out there was out of the question.

So, conserving the light of the Zippo and working blindly most of the time, I changed the tire. I wrestled with the sheetmetal trying to make it clear the tire to no avail. But when you drive a Chevette, you carry tools, so I was equipped to remove the fender as well.

As I started to do so, I hear an engine and see headlights. A Camaro stops, the driver says, "D'ya hit uh deer?" (the deer is lying dead directly in front of his car) "They're everywhare on this road ain't they? I hit one 'bout a year ago, sure does suck!"

He then drives around the deer and goes on, returning me to the darkness. I fumble around with my tools, take the top bolts off the fender, and after feeling around the bottom for the last attachment point, I give up and just thrash the fender back and forth until it rips off. I lift the hatch, put away my tools and the fender, then get back in the car and cautiously move forward.

All seems well. No alignment problems, no noises... Whoosh! My hood is in my windshield. I sigh. I tie it down with a shoelace, and proceed forward again. Things seem okay, and I start looking for a place to turn around. Oncoming headlights of a passing car reveal to me just how much gore is scattered all over my windshield. The wind has made it even more opaque, so I turn on the wipers and hit the sprayer.

The sprayer works, but only for a second. Later I would learn that the deer had destroyed the reservoir, but all I know right now is it's moistened up all that deer brain, the wipers have fully painted my windshield, and the wind is now helping to solidify it. All I can do is look around it, and that's not really working so well. I find a place to turn around about two miles up, and by this time I'm driving with my head out the window. Occasionally a wet lump of venison dislodges itself and nails me in the face.

I see another car coming up the road, and this guy is being an idiot, flashing his highbeams at me repeatedly. I had already dimmed my one headlight, what the hell did this guy want from me? The road is narrow so I put my head back in the car, not one to tempt fate on this night. My windshield glows pink and red from the other car's lights, I can see nothing at all. The car passes, and to my surprise I find I have left the road and caught air, Dukes of Hazzard style. Yes folks, I have now hit the same deer twice.

Again time slows down. So that's what all the flashing was about... Boom! I hit the ground and I know I've screwed something up this time. But at this point I've had enough and I do not care to stop. I punched a strut right up through the tower on the passenger side.

I made it home at daybreak. I went to sleep, in my clothes, on the couch. I remember my mom waking me up with a horrified look on her face... "No Mom... Deer, just a deer... Sober, yeah, I'm okay..."

 

Wow let me see.... 6 months after i got my drivers license i wrecked my 70 in to a brick wall. cost me $200 a hood, bumper, lower valence, stone guard, and radiator.... i was driving again (much more cautious of pot holes).

 

haven't had one yet, but my left front ball joint went out on my grand prix right as i started a right turn. just dented the fender, luckily I was going slow. and a police officer came to, because it was in the middle of no where. I ended up sitting in my car for 2 hours waiting for a wrecker.

 

nope, a '91 pontiac grand am. luckily, ive never once wrecked a maverick... they're watching out for me

 

The first wreck I had was in my CJ 7 I had just spent the last 6+ months mating a 4.0 HO fuel injected head to a bored and stroked 4.2L block, wiring up tuned port fuel injection, mating an Axn 15 5 speed transmission to a dana 300 transfer case, rock crawler bumpers spring over lift ect. Basically I had gotten a go ahead on my reservations for the easter Moab Jeep safari (you have to get reservations 1-2 years in advance) and I was building my new CJ to run "Hells Revenge" Didnt even have my new twin stick transfer case selectors or my new front driveshaft on yet.

I had gotten it insured, licensed and inspected, and had to run up to the store to get a coke and some smokes, was cruising down the back streets when a low rider decides to do a U-turn right in front of me. Well it was low enough(or my jeep was high enough) that the bottom of my front bumper was level with the bottom of the drivers side window of his 86 mercury cougar(with 14" gold spoke rims and tires). I broadsided him, my bumper slid up the corner support between the winshield and the door, peeling his roof off with my pintle hooks, untill my 31" tires wedged into the car and the back of my jeep came up overextending my stock driveshaft and seperating it at the slip joint.

Driver gets out and his pregnant wife gets out surprising enough neither one of them were hurt, he had to crawl out the passenger side. I get looking at his car and even though I was only going about 35-40 (residential area in the day in a jacked up jeep with a long hair driving means you gotta be good because it is a police magnet) I had hit him hard enough that the steering wheel and colum was resting on the transmission tunnel and the whole dash was nothing more than a twisted mess of plastic and metal. The driver was luckey enough to walk away uninjured, my passenger side tire wedged between the back of his seat and the side support on his roof pillar(this is what initially stopped me)folding his door under it, and my driver side tire crushed everything under the dash leaving about enough room to get his legs out.

Cops showed up a few minuites later took our storys made sure nobody was injured and asked if I could get my jeep out of his car and I was able to go if nothing was seriously wrong and proceded to write tickets out to the other driver "Manuel" (yes that was his first name and from the police report I picked up it was improper lane travel, and failure to yeild). I had to dig through the back of my jeep for a 1/2" wrench because my "jeep tools" were thrown everywhere (I buy the cheapest tools possible usually Harbor Freight to leave in my jeep becuase theives get alot more bold when they dont have to open doors or anything when I have the hard top off)recconect my rear driveshaft and pull back out of whats left of his car, make sure I am not dumping oil or anything and drive down to my buddys house who lived a couple of miles away.

From there I was able to assess the damage I had split the seams on my new aluminum radiator, bent my front axle (the dana 30's arent known for their strength) dented my oil pan (it was hit with the bump stop on my front axle there is one by the pinion shaft on those axles and I dont know how it didnt puncture it) screwed up my spring perches, ripped my engine mount bent my grill and passenger side fender, all my tie rods and antisway bars and such were screwed up, (my 4" dropped pitman arm was almost laid flat) and my windshield was cracked. (not by me hitting it my backpack full of textbooks from college hit it I was wearing my seat belt)

I get one of the shops that deals with 4 wheel drive jeeps (for all you guys in the Layton/Ogden area around here it was SkysExtremehttp://www.skysextreme.com) that has a body shop too to give me an estimate, I only had liability at the time and he had farmers insurance so I figured I could get it fixed back to what it was on their bill (as it should be). Well with an $8000 quote (uisng all NOS replacement panels and having to match the unique gold color for an 1982 jamboree edition jeep, its kind of cool there is a little plaque on the dash that says number 186 of 2500 http://www.82jambo.com/) I turned the quote in to farmers and waited for an answer, one week went by...nothing. Two weeks went by...nothing. I call Farmers they say they are trying to get the police reports because apparently it was "Manuels" sisters car so they are trying to get ahold of "Manuel" and they will get back to me within the week so I wait.....nothing. Yup a month is pretty much up and I am pissed so I call a lawyer (you know one of those you dont win you dont pay guys) and he contacted them.....one week went by....nothing. Two weeks go by....nothing.

Now at this time it has been over a month my jeep is sittin in the driveway leaking oil out of the front axle shaft seals and all of my time and money from the last 6+ months is tied up into this thing. So I call the lawyer and threaten to find another lawyer and he says give him another week, so I finally agree and on thursday afternoon I get a phone call from my lawyer and he says come into my office.....Finally I can get it done!!! He proceeds to tell me that Farmers has found that the other driver was at fault. They found that "Manuel" was indeed driving his sisters car and he was indeed issued citiations in the accident. I am thinking at this point in time "thank god I can get it fixed". Then I get hit with the bad news..."Manuel" is an illegal immigrant he has been deported back to Mexico, and because he did not have a valid US drivers license he was not supposed to be driving that car. Therefore the lawyer proceeded to tell me, all liability from Farmers went to Mexico with "Manuel" and the only way I was going to get money to fix my Jeep is to take him to court if I can find him.........

I still have the jeep it is sitting to the side of my house, every now and then I go out and start it up...I was just so frustrated and pissed off at the whole ordeal that I covered the jeep up with a tarp and let it sit for two years not wanting to do anything with it...I have new driveshafts sitting in it with a whole bunch of other new parts I am collecting, and a wife that wants me to get it done (I think she wants to drive it around) that and I think I am ready to get it finished again, last time it was registered was 2005..........The moral of the story is always get more than just liability insurance you never know if the other guy has insurance or not.

 

I was 4 years old. My dad worked a Western Auto. He took me to work with him since his mom and dad managed the store and the entire time he worked there it was him and my uncle Jeremy, and another Jeff for a short while. Anyways, the store's on a hill, and there's a storage building at the bottom. Me, dad, and uncle just got back in the company truck with some parts, the adults park the truck and go to put the stuff in the storage building. Somehow, I find a way to pull it out of gear without the key. The short of it... funny thing, gravity, always seems to pull heavy things towards stuff you don't want broke. Truck rolls into storage building. No real damage, just a dent in the storage building for it to remember me by. Only wreck I've had. Guess I learned at an early age.

 

First accedent was about 4 years ago when i was 30.I had just Finished restoring a 1978 Bronco, super clean truck to begin with. Had it on the road for about 6 months and then a 80 year old guy in a Aerostar blows a red light at 45 MPH T-bones me directly in the passenger side hits the poor Bronc so hard it buckled the dash board and put a huge kink in the floor pan on the driverside.Not to mention i was off work for almost 2 months with back and shoulder pain.The only good thing is that the insurance company treated me real well and paid my lost wages and all.
Still miss that Bronco though,bought another one with the insurance money but it turned out that it wasn't half the truck the first one was.

 

ouch!!!

 

Man, that sucks. My grandpa has a '78 Bronco Ranger XLT that he's owned since 1984. I love those things.

 

Yea i really like them too.They are hard to find around here that don't have major rust issues.
I just Sold the "replacement" Bronco in the fall.It had some issues that were going to get expensive in the near future plus the guy gave me a whole lot more for it than it was really worth.
But i will most likely end up with another one just have to be a nice clean one again.