Sunday evening

[Livingston]

I don't usually post something like this but I just have to this time. Please note, the image at the end of this will scare the holy crap out of you. It did me.

My wife, Joyce, and I went up to Estes Park this weekend to spend time with my parents, my sister and her husband. We saw mudd and his family up there on Saturday and had a generally good time. As usual, I was working at the games assisting the piping competition. I got finished at 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon and went to Mom and Dad's to load up, grab Joyce and head down here. We left between 4 and 4:30. The drive down here to the Springs takes between 2.5 and 3 hours depending on traffic. Last night we didn't get home till 10:00 PM or so.

About 6:30, when we were about 15 miles from home we went thru another heavy rain shower. I slowed down from 75 mph to about 55. Just as it was clearing up and I came back up to about 65, we found the bad patch of water and hydoplaned. I almost kept it on the road but unfortuantly, after turning almost all the way around, we went off backwards with the front end swinging around clockwise. We were still fairly fine until the right rear wheel struck a rock and at that time we were traveling sideways with the right side (passenger side) of the van leading. We ended up rolling completely over with the wheels down.

As soon as the van stopped there was a couple standing at our windows checking to see if we were ok, calling for help and picking up what was thrown from our car. Moments later an off duty State Police officer was there checking on us and just a few minutes later the ambulance was there. They put the love of my life on a back board with her neck completely braced and took her to the ambulance. After checking me over they opened the door and assisted me out and up to the ambulance. After our short stay at the emergency room, we are home. Joyce has a small crack in her right collar bone which has her in pleanty of pain but only a few brusies elsewhere. I am feeling some aches/pain at the surface of my chest on the left side and in a corosponding place in the back. My guess would be dislocated ribs or they popped back in. I have several small cuts but that's about it.

Now for what will scare the crap out of you:



OBVIOUSLY that Man above, no matter what you call him, didn't thing it was time for us to come stay with him.

Lesson learned (for all of us I hope): 1. When it rains SLOW WAY THE AICH E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS DOWN! 2. Make sure and keep a close watch on your tires. When I had ours rotated the last time they suggested that I start thinking about replacing the rear tires but I just didn't get it done.

[auld argonian]

Glad you got out of that one...just out of curiosity, do you remember your exact words while this was happening?

Interestingly enough I DO slow down in bad weather...one of the problems there is that there are a lot of people who DON'T and who end up tailgating you in weather where brakes are a mere formality at best. Get a clue, people...I don't care what they tell you you can do on the TV commercials: reality is another thing. It's usually the "locals" who travel those roads all the time who get impatient...if you are a "local" just try to remember that not everybody knows the roads like you do and have some consideration.

Best

AA

[Livingston]

"That's dirt and grass in the windshield, that can't be good. OH S _ _ _" And other assorted things. When I went to the tow yard and picked up everything in the van, one of the guys asked how the driver was. The look on his face when I said I wasn't feeling too bad was priceless. One thing you might not notice, the top was pushed down completely on the drivers seat and had pushed the back down some. When sitting there normally, the top of my head would be just above the head rest.

[ccga3359]

I'm glad to hear you're both OK. From the sounds of your minor injuries and the state of your van, might I suggest that you get another Dodge (this one being toast). Seatbelts really do save lives.

[Mr. Kilt]

Wow, I'm glad you were able to walk away from that with minor injuries!

[Livingston]

My thought when I turned around and saw it after getting out was "Wow, I should be ......."

[ardchoille]

That looks like a Dodge. If so they have the highest crash rating of all the minivans. Also, iirc, dodge minivans are built on the Chrysler New Yorker frame, not a truck frame like the Ford's and Chevy's, making for a smoother ride and higher crash survivability.

Glad to hear everyone is still kicking

[ChromeScholar]

Any crash you survive is a good crash. Glad you're ok.

[Bob C]

I'm glad you're ok and I wish your wife a speedy recovery. I know exactly how you feel. I walked away from this one about a year and a half ago.

[Dirk Skene]

Dude! Glad you folks are OK. Thank goodness for the off duty trooper or you guys might have been there a while longer. You were being watched over, that is sure, by The Great Kilted One.

I forget who on this forum coined the term I just used, I do not remember. But I think it was good.