This really shook me up a bit after seeing it.

I was headed North on 281 between Bitters and Thousand Oaks here in San Antonio. I was going to drive by Firestone to see about warranty replacements on 2 defective tires I have. But that got blown away due to this accident.

I was in the right most lane getting ready to exit which was Thousand Oaks. Well, this guy in a late 80's Toyota Corolla decides to shoot all the way from the left lane to a exit called Brook Hollow (which is one exit before Thousand oaks). He cuts across 3 lanes of traffic, going at a higher rate of speed. I was the 2nd car back behind another person when I saw this. The car did not make the exit. He SLAMMED into the water filled barrels with his left front end, causing him to go air born and spinning at the same time. His front end then hit a full sized ford van top right rear 1/4 panel in the air caused it to almost loose control, then the car landed on its roof and slid about another 30 yards. Mind you this all happened right in front of me, I gave everything I had to the brakes, Anti-locks thank god slammed in. I moved over to the shoulder and parked, lots of other cars skidding to stop as well. Lots of others as well stopped. All lanes were blocked with debri and the car. I got my phone before I completly stopped and called 911. Within 5 min they had a Ambulance there. The van that he hit, luckly the guy driving it was a doctor. He helped get the guy out of the car, he had broken bones, but he had a severe head injury. His face was covered in blood. But the guy is lucky. The car landed on the passenger side and that roof was completely caved in. The driver side was intact where he could open the door still.

This is sad to happen on Christmas eve. I pray everyone be careful. I was lucky I wasn't a little closer or I would have been taken out too probably.

Merry Christmas guys, and be careful.

 

 

Hey Russ, Christmas is on the 25th of December here in Houston. I didn't know it was on the 24th in SA...

Me

 

Left my brain at the accident..sorry

 

Glad you're okay.

Seeing that kind of stuff is like a reality check for me. All it takes is some idiot or a dumb move. Sometimes I feel like we're all a few seconds away from cerebral disconnect and then lights out.

 

Ouch, that sucks, good thing you weren't hit. People cannot drive in this city I swear.

 

A couple of days ago, a close family friend was in a car wreck coming back from a nudy bar. He was apparently drunk, and now he's dead. Don't be stupid...I don't care how fast you drive, just do it while you're sober and alert.

 

wow

 

seeing accidents in person are weird.

 

good thing you are ok. thats such a sad story

 

sucks to hear that, I haven't seen anything nearly that bad in person, but even minor incidents suck.

Hey "FahCue" nice name

 

The only thing that bring the message home more than watching a bad wreck is being in one.

When a drunk driver crosses the median and hits you head-on at a relative speed of 80mph... That's when you really know what MADD is talking about. That was 10 years ago and I'm fully recovered. But I also see my friends drink and drive all the time. A friend of mine even boasted about taking several car mirrors out in a drunken vehicular stagger home one night. I told him my whole story, from turning left onto Edderthorpe lane at 11:30pm and putting a Genesis tape in the stero, to getting 1/4 second to make my peace with the maker. All that life-before-your-eyes stuff is bollocks - All I saw was a bright white light. His headlights, I guess. I remember that I forgot how to turn the engine off and remove the key - the alternator warning light was on. I don't think they ever found the alternator.

Also, that I had to kick the window out to get out, away from the smell of spilling diesel. I remember that the song; "Land of Confusion" was playing in the stereo, which had stanchy refused to die with the rest of the car. I remember how I found that strangley apt, as in my confused state I tried to remember how to undo my seatbelt (Damn, Had I not been wearing it...). I am *so* anti-DD but I don't get militant about it.

Maybe I should.

**** happens. Be ready for it. Belt up, be sober.

 

Seeing a bad accident is bad but being in one is horrible. BE SAFE OVER THE HOLIDAYS, i almost lost my bestfriend during the summer when he was riding shotgun in my 95 se. ALWAYS drive ALERT

 

Even you're about to miss an exit on a freeway, it's better to lose 5 mins to take the next exit and turn around. Drive safe this holiday season everyone.

 

wow russ good to hear your ok, your lucky no one slammed into your while you were stopped. merry x-mas everyone

 

I like Genesis too.

 

Right now, a friend of my niece's is in the hospital because he rolled his new Monte Carlo after hitting a patch of black ice.

Also, I have seen a pretty nasty wreck happen in front of me as well. I was travelling eastbound on I-90 headed toward Downtown Chicago. As I was gridlocked in traffic, there was a Toyota flying in the left lane. The next thing I saw was him slamming his brakes and plowing into the back of the Cavalier that was in front of him. The force of the impact was so great that it physically lifted rear of the Cavalier off the ground.

 

You must have a Zen attitude to driving.

- My yoga instructor gave me some line about the peace that comes with avoiding the frustration of trying to be in control of an uncontrollable entity (the traffic flow).

- Some friend of mine told me to trust the traffic flow to God.

- Remember that saying - something about the Mighty Oak that stands strong is torn down by a storm, but the grass knows to bend with the wind and is therefore left unschathed... Or some crap like that.

- My doctor told me to reduce my stress levels. "Start off with refusing to take on 'optional' stressors, like being agressive in traffic. If you choose to be agressive, then you have also chosen to take on the stress. Choose to be passive, so that you have also chosen to leave the stress behind."

- Another friend told me that driving in traffic is like a Roulette Wheel; The more you gamble on it, the more you risk to lose. Don't put your life on the table - it may just come up Black.

- My wife says; "You drive like a ***. Calm down before you get us both killed, moron!" "Sorry wifey!"

 

last week I was witness and almost part of the worst accident I'd ever seen too. it was dark and wet and I was in center lane of a 3 lane highway when a car in the left and a car on the right merged to the center at the same time. The car on the right swerved too hard back to the right and ran off the road then swerved hard left and did a 460 in the middle of the interstate stopping with his car sideways. I had to swerve left to miss him when an 18 wheeler in the center plowed right into him and push him back to the right emergency lane. The truck then went right then jacknifed left and flipped over on the passenger side blocking all lanes...I stopped about 20 feet from the truck..I thought it was going to blow! the truck driver just pushed out the windshield and walked out..the other guy in the taurus was messed up but alive and bloody. Some guys were trying to rip his doors off to pull him out but I yelled at them not to touch him since he was breathing...he could have had a broken neck. Took jaws of life to get him out. I thought for sure I was going to get hit..since all this happened right in front of me. That guy's family were all out of town and he had to go to the hospital without anyone. I felt so sorry for him...the other guy that merged in just kept going. later