My Poor Neon!!!
So I was cruising down I-5 on my way home from work, listening to the radio. Suddenly, I see break lights lighting up in front of me. I slam on the breaks, and come to a stop a foot from the car in front of me. Instinctively, I look at the rearview mirror. Reflected in the mirror is the image of a green SUV coming toward me going far too fast to be able to stop.
I barely have time to think anything before the loud crunch and the impact hit the rear of my car. My car is forced forward into the car in front of me, but apparently not hard enough for him to notice. A couple seconds later, a second impact, followed by a third.
After catching my breath and seeing a passing motorist who has stopped and called 911, I start to get out of the car to inspect the damage and check on the other drivers. No one was hurt, but all 4 cars were severly damaged.
The damage to my car was confined mostly to the rear end where the bumper, tail lights, and trunk lid were smashed. The impact also shoved the muffler back and down, driving the exhaust tips up underneath the remains of the bumper.
The SUV who hit me had the front end smashed in, and he left his antifreeze all over the interstate. He also ended up with a car up underneath his rear end. Poor guy was on his way to Bellingham, and has now found himself stuck here with no transportation, and no one to call. The trooper suggested having his insurance company get him a rental car which seemed like a good idea to him.
The other two cars both had extensive front end damage, and one had rear end damage. One was a company car that the guy had just gotten. It had barely 39 miles on it. That’s really gotta suck.
After alternately shivering in the cold and huddling in the car with the heater going, the trooper had the tow trucks hooked up all the vehicles and hauled them away. I felt mine was still drivable, but the state trooper refused to let me drive it home. My tow truck driver was nice enough to give me a ride home though.
I’ve called the insurance company and gotten them on the case. Now I just have to decide if I want to pay to rent a car while mine is in the shop. The insurance agent said that the responsible party will have to pay for the rental, but I’m not sure if I have the money to cover it until then. We’ll have to see what happens.
So, the summary, I’m fine other than a sore neck, but the car is in need of some serious body work to fix the rear end. Hopefully it won’t take nearly as long as it took to get Karin’s PT Cruiser back. More news as it happens.
March 19th, 2004 at 5:01 am
John, we’re so sorry to hear about your car getting crunched in an accident. The good news is that you were not hurt.
March 19th, 2004 at 5:57 am
Glad to hear there were no serious injuries, however, be sure to watch that neck. I did not feel the damage for several days after being hit from behind several years ago. However, it did keep me out of sports for months and I was in with a specialist about twice a week for 2 months to get back to 100%.
The neck is a body part that you want to take care of make sure you get it checked out. Insurance should cover it … if not - find a new insurance company. The only problem is you “tapping” the guy in front. I know in BC that results in you being partially responsible, don’t know what the laws are down here.
Hope you get the car back soon.