just a quick little kneemail

[Candidquality]

Hope everyone had a pretty good day.  I just wanted to take a minute and relay my day, 

Wife gives me a call as I'm driving back into work, and can barely tell me the car is totaled and where she is at.  Of course I comfortable her and remind her things can be replaced, she can't.  

So naturally I turn around and head out to pick her up, another 30 minutes north of where I work.  She was on a trip to take her great aunt in for a check up.  She is staying with us for a few weeks, to recover from what will someday be a lifetime movie channel multipart movie.  

 

So I get there and see the car is loaded up on the tow truck on its way to the impound, but I'm checking on my wife, auntie and my two teenagers to make sure nothing is broken. Kids have bruises from the seatbelts, but teenagers are hard to keep down.  Auntie has a broken stich, but did a pretty good job catching her 75 year old 98 pound body. 

Wife had swelling just below her left knee where the dash smashed into her (2000 Mazda), head hurting and a bit dizzy, right ankle hurts to stand on and back is hurting a bit.  Nothing too serious, except for what could be a possible minor concussion. Thinking I'll be able to take her to the medical service shortly and drop everyone back at the house an hour and a half away.  

I get in my other car and find that it won't start.  This is an old retired crown Vic, and I'm at about 395k.  She throws an occasional fit, but nothing I can't handle normally.  Let the wife know so she knows we are stuck for a bit as she and auntie are getting the once over in the EMT van.  

I am of course going through the checklist, spark fuel, etc.  Get the occasional bump, but nothing that will stay.  By this time they get out of the van and start heading back to the car, I've told two of our finest that I'm broken down, but will either fix it or get my own tow.  

When they get back over i suggest they get dropped off across the interstate at a Whataburger so they can sit in the a/c as Texas in the summer is a bit warm. And every officer EMT, etc drives off before I can flag them down.  

So the whole crew is stuck with me, windows don't roll down, on the side of interstate 45 in the heat of the day.  Two doors facing away from traffic open to vent it a bit.  We call everyone we can get ahold of to get the out of the heat and in a safe place.  

Takes about an hour but the first two show up and get auntie and my daughter on the way back to the house and my wife on her way to the local Baylor medical with my son and her mom to make sure she gets checked over correctly.  

So now it's just me on the side of the freeway with my car trying to get ahold of one friend why will drive out with a truck to tow me the 1.5 hour trip home at 75 which will be a good 3 hour trip now.  Burning up on the concrete and have already drank through a gallon of water I keep in the truck for just such a case.  

And then I begin thinking.  Just you and your thoughts.  Look up and say, you know, I would really appreciate some shade.  About ten minutes later clouds cover the sun, and for the next two hours I'm in the shade and 20 degrees cooler.  I say thanks, and keep trying to get ahold of my friend.  

Finally get ahold of him near the end of my 2 hours of shade, found out he left his phone at home and just now got my dozen messages and is heading my way.  Tells me his transmission has been slipping lately, but will be heading my way anyway.  

Now the sun starts to some out again and I'm more worried that my friend may lose his truck than me getting home to work on this.  

And a tow truck with a big bed shows up.  I try to wave him off, because I know what a 100 mile tow would cost, and I just lost a car and need to find a way to fix another.  He tells me he drove by an hour earlier on a job and saw me sitting there, and still there on his way back, he offered to get me off the side of the highway for free, as it was dangerous, I thanked him, and just requested that he spin me anound to the other side of the freeway, and on the access road so we could hook up our tow rope safely. 

So we load up and begin then 10 minute turn around and start talking a bit.  

To make a already long story a bit shorter, he towed me all the way home.  

My wife is being checked out and sounds like she has a hairline fracture , full CT scans and the works show her head is as good as it was before.  Auntie is now sleeping soundly in bed. And I know everything is going to be ok.  I'll fix the car, and find her another eventually, and there is no doubt I had a bit of help getting through the day.  

Just wanted to let everyone know, that every great once in a while when you really need it, you get an answer. Keep believing, or start, and give it a chance.  You might just be a bit surprised as I was today.  

[Daswulf]

So far I have never been stranded to where I couldn't get myself out. If I'm in dire need I have always had help. I understand. Most of the time I need to get myself out but when I cant there is always someone around to nudge me.

On the crown vic, (may have read that wrong.) They have a fuel cutoff when they get hit. find the button and press it back down. it's usually either in around the glove box or in the trunk on either side. 

Here is to "someone" watching out for us in our true times of need. 

[Candidquality]

That was a bit long winded, but it was the Mazda that was hit.  The crown Vic has a button in the left wall of the trunk you can test by tap, and it will pop up like a turkey timer.  The Vic will be returning to glory today I'm sure.  The Mazda on the other hand:

Picture says it all.  Wife has a fracture on her right leg, and is hobbling around in a boot just fine.   Should have been a lot worse than a cracked bone and some major bruising.   She likely cracked the bone by kicking open the door because she was worried when the wind got knocked out of my daughter and she couldn't respond.  

 

Yep, good to know we're being helped along.  Wouldn't be worth much myself without them. 

 

 

[Daswulf]

That's a bad hit. They are lucky to get out of that one with minor injuries. Like you said, things can be replaced, it's the loved ones that count. That's why cars are made to crush like they do. 

[ThomasPowers]

Sounds like time for some thanking and praising!

[Kevin Olson]

Glad everyone is ok.  Help comes to those who believe.  Hey Das, whats up with those extensions on the frame horns. I've never seen those before. And wheres the impact bar? Never saw one totally gone.  Weird looking hit.

[Daswulf]

I haven't had this model apart before and was wondering about the lacking reinforcement bar a bit as well. It could have been ripped off. The frame extensions are additional impact absorbers but it looks like the hit went mainly above them so it didn't hit directly on them. I have seen those before on vehicles. 

[Candidquality]

Hit a pickup and pushed under mostly. Didn't even trigger the air bags.  Likely pulled off when they pried the car out.  Was done before I got there,  different angle shown here.  Have one of the truck bumper as well somewhere.  

[Daswulf]

Some toyotas don't have much for a rebar and rely more on the rails and upper and lower rad support so it may not have had much for one, I see that more often in their light trucks tho. The car did it's job tho and absorbed the impact so the passengers took less of one. There are many reasons why airbags may not deploy as well as the locking seatbelts. One is that the sensor may be on the rail itself so being a higher hit may not have triggered it, or any other reason like the wiring getting damaged (which it looks like it took out the battery and fuse block), or even a faulty system. It really is surprising when the do or do not activate. I have seen heavy hits where they did not and light hits where they did. Another factor is if the seatbelt worn or not but that isn't a constant either.  

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

May have been good the air bags failed to deploy with all the recalls of Takata air bags that the dealers can't do because of the unavailability of new air bags from the manufacture. Glad everyone is on the mend and "someone" was looking out for them.

[Frosty]

That's some story, certainly worth thanks and I'm giving mine as I type. I may have ideas how anyone made it through that with what amount to pretty minor injuries. Cars designed to crush on impact to slow the deceleration is a big factor. Older cars would've been much flatter and the riders more injured. 

Ah heck, I wasn't going to speculate was I? I'll just be happy and thankful it came out as well as it did. Well. . . I'm not really fond of the Caprice model but hope you get her up and running again. There IS no accounting for taste afterall. 

Yeah, I gotta inject a little humor to lighten the mood, you know me.

Frosty The Lucky.