Seat belts saved us **Pics added**

[Lumber_Jack]

DP Edited April 5, 2013 by Lumber_Jack

[Lumber_Jack]

Estimated speed came from the guy driving in the lane beside her. He saw she wasn't going to stop.

I have no idea how fast she was going, but it was highway speed. Edited April 5, 2013 by Lumber_Jack

[sigmtnman]

Wow.  Glad y'all are ok!

[chadbuddy]

Glad you two are okay but I'm still saddened by the loss of life.

 

My wife asked my what I was doing the first few times, but this is exactly why I turn on my hazards when I am stopped in interstate traffic until the cars behind me are stopped. 

[Wyldk2]

I know I'm a bit late, but glad you both are ok. Sorry for the deceased as well. Something like this actually happened to a friend of mine a few weeks ago. She was driving a 2005 Pontiac G6( nice yet smaller car). Got stopped behind one of those county buses( modified van) at a railroad signal, only thing the driver of the truck behind her didn't stop. She luckily was wearing a seatbelt and her airbags deployed. Totalled her vehicle and when the rescue crews arrived, they were amazed at the ammount of damage she wasn't hurt( just sore as a wreck usually makes someone). Now her (new to her) vehicle is a full-sized ford truck. She told me smaller cars scare the heck out of her.

 

I had an incident about 2 years ago though nothing major. Was on my way to work, roads were wet. Saw this kid coming to the intersection with the main road I was on. I knew at his speed and with the roads being wet he couldn't stop in time, neither could I. So to keep from killing someone i sped up, letting him hit me as mine is a bigger SUV, Property damage i could deal with, a death or major injury...It would hurt a lot worse. Great thing was, nobody was hurt, actually he raced out of his car to see if i was ok. Turns out he was an EMT in training and we had the same insurance carrier.

 

Texting while driving and anything that can take your eyes off the road isn't worth a life. Luckily in these 2 cases i mentioned, that wasnt the problem.  I have a friend in the county who has witnessed many fatal accidents where Texting or not paying attention has ruined lives.

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

Two things I have learned in my years as a traffic investigator is never assume speed by the damage and never assume injuries by the damage. I'm sure she was speeding though because people drive crazy. Did she hit her brakes at all?

To prove your point, I walked away from this without as much as a scratch after being run off the road by someone on a phone and being flipped over several times. The whole thing was witnessed by some LEO's. They were shocked that I was not injured as my car hit the end of a guard-rail and went airborne, landed nose down, flipped end over end and then rolled over twice and ended up upside-down.

 

I must say that unhooking the seatbelt while in the air so that I could lean farther over in the seat probably had a lot to do with not being injured. Just how I kept my thoughts together and knew that I needed to do that I do not know, I just remember that it was all in slow motion to me at the time.

 

This should also make Sour Kraut feel a bit better about his kid being in a Crown Vic which is pretty much the same as this Marquis. Tough rides they are but the wife and I have always wanted a Land Rover, even more so after seeing this thread.

 

I am also saddened that the lady lost her life but very happy that no one else was seriously injured. At highway speeds this could have been much worse. I spend several years driving a truck over the road and saw far too many needless deaths and almost every one was either alcohol or a darn telephone and I stopped driving a few months after 9-11. The phone thing has only gotten worse since then as we know.

 

Phones and driving are one of my very few pet peeves these days. I cant count the near misses due to some fool and his or her phone being more important than driving their vehicles, it seems as if it happens every time I leave the house anymore. When those near misses happen I swear I feel like someone just took a shot at me and missed, and while I never would, I wont lie,the thought of retaliation does cross my mind, but again I never would.

[Lumber_Jack]

It appears the driver had 3 cellphones and 2 showed signs of use at the time of the crash.

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20130406/NEWS/304060016?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom

[Erik88]

It appears the driver had 3 cellphones and 2 showed signs of use at the time of the crash.

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20130406/NEWS/304060016?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom

 

Why the heck would someone need 3 cell phones? How strange.

[Lumber_Jack]

Why the heck would someone need 3 cell phones? How strange.

 

I thought this as well.  Even drug dealers dont have 3 phones.  I can't really comprehend what she was doing.  

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

I am a "she"...lol but yeah  those landyachts are a bit better in a situation like thtis than a minicooper ...

 

 

Someone said they turn their hazzards on at a stand still..when I come to a stand still or a near stop on the Interstat...e I pump my brakes..They teach that in german drivingschool.or at least used to...blinking red lights can be seen quite ways back and people usualy know that there is a situation ahead..

To prove your point, I walked away from this without as much as a scratch after being run off the road by someone on a phone and being flipped over several times. The whole thing was witnessed by some LEO's. They were shocked that I was not injured as my car hit the end of a guard-rail and went airborne, landed nose down, flipped end over end and then rolled over twice and ended up upside-down.

 

I must say that unhooking the seatbelt while in the air so that I could lean farther over in the seat probably had a lot to do with not being injured. Just how I kept my thoughts together and knew that I needed to do that I do not know, I just remember that it was all in slow motion to me at the time.

 

This should also make Sour Kraut feel a bit better about his kid being in a Crown Vic which is pretty much the same as this Marquis. Tough rides they are but the wife and I have always wanted a Land Rover, even more so after seeing this thread.

 

I am also saddened that the lady lost her life but very happy that no one else was seriously injured. At highway speeds this could have been much worse. I spend several years driving a truck over the road and saw far too many needless deaths and almost every one was either alcohol or a darn telephone and I stopped driving a few months after 9-11. The phone thing has only gotten worse since then as we know.

 

Phones and driving are one of my very few pet peeves these days. I cant count the near misses due to some fool and his or her phone being more important than driving their vehicles, it seems as if it happens every time I leave the house anymore. When those near misses happen I swear I feel like someone just took a shot at me and missed, and while I never would, I wont lie,the thought of retaliation does cross my mind, but again I never would.

[Dolomite_supafly]

It appears the driver had 3 cellphones and 2 showed signs of use at the time of the crash.

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20130406/NEWS/304060016?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom

 

I would be interested if any drugs were found in the vehicle. I can think of very few reasons why a person would need to have 3 phones.

 

Was the lady from Tennessee?

[Lumber_Jack]

Investigation seems complete.

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20130411/NEWS/304110019/Police-Cellphone-distraction-caused-fatal-crash?nclick_check=1

Summary: Lady was repeatedly dialing a number on two separate cell phones. Traveling at estimated 60mph and no signs of hitting the brakes. I spoke to the investigating officer and she said the skid marks occurred at impact no from brakes.

[Erik88]

Did they determine if your vehicle is totaled? 

[Lumber_Jack]

Did they determine if your vehicle is totaled?

Yes it is totaled. Their was well over 30K worth of damage including a total frame replacement.

We're still negotiating with the insurance over replacement value. They made a decent effort but I believe they are a couple thousand short of what our car was worth.

I'll say this, I hate car shopping!

[Raoul]

I'll say this, I hate car shopping!

Amen to that.

[Guest ancient_serpent]

Very, very glad you're still with us. Hope your wife's nose is alright as well. Accidents suck, got hit head on a little while back. Distracted driver swerved into my lane after failing to stop at a posted stop sign. 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2013 by ancient_serpent

[Erik88]

Yes it is totaled. Their was well over 30K worth of damage including a total frame replacement.

We're still negotiating with the insurance over replacement value. They made a decent effort but I believe they are a couple thousand short of what our car was worth.

I'll say this, I hate car shopping!

 

Sorry to hear that. I assume you're negotiating with HER insurance? I hate the sue-happy world we live in but given the situation you may have to threaten a lawsuit to get a more reasonable number from them.

[Lumber_Jack]

Yes it is totaled. Their was well over 30K worth of damage including a total frame replacement.


We're still negotiating with the insurance over replacement value. They made a decent effort but I believe they are a couple thousand short of what our car was worth.


I'll say this, I hate car shopping!



Sorry to hear that. I assume you're negotiating with HER insurance? I hate the sue-happy world we live in but given the situation you may have to threaten a lawsuit to get a more reasonable number from them.

Actually we filed the claim with OUR insurance. We have to pay our deductible up front but State Farm will get that reimbursed to us with the money they will get reimbursed from her insurance carrier. We are going to consult a lawyer before signing any documents and make sure we are doing the right thing.