if you think you had a bad day

[juststumps]

this is one of my buddies,,, didn't see him friday,, figured he went away..saw him saturday... check out the pics!!!!! PS the kid in the car lived !!

We were heading to Cape May NJ around 4PM Friday for the weekend. We
were heading south on RT 539 near Cream Ridge when a driver in a
Camaro crossed the center line and we had a near head-on collision.
When I saw him cross the center line, I immediately headed to the
right shoulder and even onto the grass. Didn't help as he hit us at
nearly a 30 degree angle.

Initial impact point was the driver's door. By the time his vehicle
was to the back of the truck, his car ripped the rear the axle mount
from the truck. His car continued to pass UNDER the 5th wheel,
tearing out both trailer axles.

I turned the wheel sharp left to compensate for the truck's rear axle
steering me to the right. The rig jack knifed anyway.

The first words out of my mouth were "Is everyone OK?". The rear
window was blown out from the trailer coming in contact with the
window. Fortunately everyone was OK.

I guess we're lucky. We all walked away with zero injuries. The guy
that hit us was air-lifted by helicopter to the hospital. That
doesn't sound good. I hope he makes it through this. He was in
really bad shape.

Here's some pics I took with a cell phone camera. Sorry for the
crappy quality.

Landing spot (notice no wheels on the trailer)
http://mysite.verizon.net/sandynic/rva1.jpg

Another angle. Whole truck frame is twisted. But the Reese hitch
never let go. Gotta give Reese a +1 for that.
http://mysite.verizon.net/sandynic/rva2.jpg

Left front of fiver. This was the entry point. Most of the missing
pieces were found embedded in the Camaro.
http://mysite.verizon.net/sandynic/rva3.jpg

That silver colored thingy underneath the truck is the drive shaft.
http://mysite.verizon.net/sandynic/rva4.jpg

Rear axle of truck was pushed back about 2 feet.
http://mysite.verizon.net/sandynic/rva5.jpg

The woman in the car directly behind me bailed out to the right and
landed in a hedgerow with a heavily damaged car. She was banged up a
bit, but appeared OK. That is one of my trailer axles to the left of
the car.
http://mysite.verizon.net/sandynic/rva6.jpg

This is what was left of the Camaro after passing beneath my 5er. I
was amazed that much car was left intact.
http://mysite.verizon.net/sandynic/rva7.jpg


Sandy

 

[pbtree]

:jawdrop:

 

[BostonBull]

Glad everyone was OK!

Was the other driver drunk?

 

[Dadatwins]

Wow, what a mess, hope everyone is Ok, I see that propane tank sitting there and can't help thinking how much worse that could have been.

 

[Marc123]

Driver's Dad

I am the dad of the driver of the car that hit the camper. We are all very thankful that the driver of the camper was not injured and we praise his evasive maneuvers to minimize the catastrophic outcome of this accident.

Matt is doing well in the hospital where his injuries are several shoulder bones broken and a large amount of skin lost on his left shoulder. Things could have been much worse. He is a very lucky young man. His family and friends express their deep gratitude to the good samaritans, EMTs, firemen and firewomen, police, helicopter pilot, trauma surgeons, nurses and everyone else who has helped and expressed their interest in Matt's recovery. For the record, there were no alcohol, drugs, or cell phones involved.