Rush on the PATP...accident...???

[lownslow95]

yeah, but the car looked pretty bad when i saw it.

[Rush]

Hi guys.

Yeah, it was me. I just finally got home to Elizabethtown about a half hour ago. I'm fine, which in itself is a miracle considering what happened in the accident.

I was in the left lane doing about 50mph. One of those massive Penndot snow plows was in the right lane up ahead of me. I was in the process of passing it when it started throwing out a TON of salt. I mean, I know they usually throw out a decent amount, but it was like the load in the bed shifted and it was simply GUSHING salt. It was throwing out SO much salt and such large chunks of it that my first honest thought was -- holy ****, my windshield is going to crack. And it was throwing salt chunks across the entire span of my car -- across the entire left lane because chunks of it were smashing right in front of my face.

I had been driving in the usual 'ruts' made in the lane through the snow, but when all that salt bombarded me, I couldn't see a thing. I must have drifted into the snow/slush areas though .. cause next thing I knew, the car yanked to the left faster than I could even comprehend what was happening. There wasn't even a chance for me to recover. The front driver's side headlight/fender area slammed into the median, and I rebounded and went spinning back across both lanes until I came to rest with the back driver's side end smashed into the guard rail.

I have absolutely no idea how I didn't hit anyone else .. and I have no idea how that snow plow didn't run me over. The guy who had been driving directly behind me (along with about four other people) stopped and came to make sure I was okay afterwards .. and the guy behind me said that when I first broke into the spin, the plow hit its brakes -- and immediately after that, when I rebounded and spun across the two lanes, he said the plow missed me by a foot. If that.

Here are the end results (and this pic was taken about an hour and a half after the accident, and by that point, they had the road clear -- go figure):



It looks awful and it is. However .. again, by some sort of miracle .. it's not AS bad as it looks. The rear driver's side bumper is dented and the rear lip is scuffed and the driver's side tail light is shattered. As for the front .. the only damage I got to the engine bay setup was a small scratch to the lower driver's side corner of the intercooler. The hardpipes weren't even touched. And that side of the engine bay where the headlight is crunched in -- nothing sits there. Not even the wheel/tire was touched. So up front .. the bumper, front lip, grill, hood, and fender are all shot. But be damned if the car didn't start right up and drive just fine when it was being put on the tow truck!

So now it's sitting and waiting for the adjuster to come and see if it's repairable .. or totaled. While I'm incredibly upset .. I'm also very thankful that I'm fine and that no one else was involved.

I'll keep everyone posted on how things go. Thanks for worrying about me!

[Soon2bG60]

ouch, that sucks bad,

[lownslow95]

If I had known it was you, I would have stopped. I thought about it for a while, and I'm like that car looks really familiar. But glad to see that you were ok.

[Scapegoat]

Originally Posted by Rush

Hi guys.

Yeah, it was me. I just finally got home to Elizabethtown about a half hour ago. I'm fine, which in itself is a miracle considering what happened in the accident.

I was in the left lane doing about 50mph. One of those massive Penndot snow plows was in the right lane up ahead of me. I was in the process of passing it when it started throwing out a TON of salt. I mean, I know they usually throw out a decent amount, but it was like the load in the bed shifted and it was simply GUSHING salt. It was throwing out SO much salt and such large chunks of it that my first honest thought was -- holy ****, my windshield is going to crack. And it was throwing salt chunks across the entire span of my car -- across the entire left lane because chunks of it were smashing right in front of my face.

I had been driving in the usual 'ruts' made in the lane through the snow, but when all that salt bombarded me, I couldn't see a thing. I must have drifted into the snow/slush areas though .. cause next thing I knew, the car yanked to the left faster than I could even comprehend what was happening. There wasn't even a chance for me to recover. The front driver's side headlight/fender area slammed into the median, and I rebounded and went spinning back across both lanes until I came to rest with the back driver's side end smashed into the guard rail.

I have absolutely no idea how I didn't hit anyone else .. and I have no idea how that snow plow didn't run me over. The guy who had been driving directly behind me (along with about four other people) stopped and came to make sure I was okay afterwards .. and the guy behind me said that when I first broke into the spin, the plow hit its brakes -- and immediately after that, when I rebounded and spun across the two lanes, he said the plow missed me by a foot. If that.

Here are the end results (and this pic was taken about an hour and a half after the accident, and by that point, they had the road clear -- go figure):



It looks awful and it is. However .. again, by some sort of miracle .. it's not AS bad as it looks. The rear driver's side bumper is dented and the rear lip is scuffed and the driver's side tail light is shattered. As for the front .. the only damage I got to the engine bay setup was a small scratch to the lower driver's side corner of the intercooler. The hardpipes weren't even touched. And that side of the engine bay where the headlight is crunched in -- nothing sits there. Not even the wheel/tire was touched. So up front .. the bumper, front lip, grill, hood, and fender are all shot. But be damned if the car didn't start right up and drive just fine when it was being put on the tow truck!

So now it's sitting and waiting for the adjuster to come and see if it's repairable .. or totaled. While I'm incredibly upset .. I'm also very thankful that I'm fine and that no one else was involved.

I'll keep everyone posted on how things go. Thanks for worrying about me!

damn, got my fingers crossed that its mostly cosmetic! From your description it sounds "good"... just make sure that whatever the adjuster says, you research it... don't want them under valuing your car.

glad to see you're still with us and unscathed

[DPancoast]

geeze... part of me would want to go after pendot... but I dont know the rules of the road when they are out and about.

Sorry to hear about your car Rush. Thank god you are ok.

[Glick]

I hope they don't total it out, that really sucks. I had a close call about a month ago when the guy in front of me was doing 15 in a 55 (and this is the kicker) with no hazard lights on. I came up on him pretty quick, grabbed the wheel spun a 180 in the middle of the road, went past him (backwards at this point) slid off the road, missed a telephone pole, grazed some branches on a tree, and stopped a few feet short of a very large tree. The hilarious part is that I had enough time to regroup myself, get back on the road, proceed at a much slower rate of speed, (30 as opposed to 45) and still catch up to the guy. He pulled over to let me go by this time (still had no hazards on).

[FlashFive]

sorry to hear it rush!

[lownslow95]

Did the airbags go off?

[SpEcRv9]

damn sorry to see at least you're alright....i avoided a few close calls today....a pendot truck almost ran me off the road, so i guess we both can say FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU to pendot today!

[Rush]

Originally Posted by lownslow95

Did the airbags go off?

No, no airbags. Which is on my side as far as repairing it versus totaling it out .. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and trying not to think about it too much. There's no point right now, really, until I hear from the adjuster. And I spent the last five and a half hours bawling .. so by this point I'm just burnt out.

I'm still just can't believe that snow plow missed me, though. I'm gonna be in awe over that for awhile.

But the plow driver did stop .. but this is what he said to me as I'm standing there shaking like a leaf. Plow driver: "You okay?" Me: "Yeah .. I mean, I think so." Plow driver: "Jesus, you scared the hell out of me!" And I just stood there in silence, staring at him thinking -- YOU?! DO YOU SEE MY ****ING CAR RIGHT NOW?! WHO GIVES A FLYING **** ABOUT YOU!! .. And that's all he said, turned around and walked back to his truck and left. Awesome.

[cmr076]

sorry to hear.. i saw a LOT of accidents today while running errands. Just remember a car is repairable/replaceable, you arent.

[Scapegoat]

if you need a hug Cindy... i'm right here

[lownslow95]

Damn. I would have gotten that drivers plate number and reported it to the state.

[lownslow95]

Originally Posted by cmr076

sorry to hear.. i saw a LOT of accidents today while running errands. Just remember a car is repairable/replaceable, you arent.

So did I. There were 4 on 222 alone. And I saw a Mustang do a 180*.

[cmr076]

Originally Posted by lownslow95

So did I. There were 4 on 222 alone. And I saw a Mustang do a 180*.

i saw a cherokee that thought they were invincible go into someones front yard (through a fence) and 2 mustangs on seperate flat beds

[lownslow95]

I saw a dude in a new sti think he was invisible
(that body style)

[3rdGenMr2Girl]

ughhh i'm sorry girl i hope it's not a huge hassle for you. i doubt they will total it. i was in a pretty bad accident where my front and side airbags deployed, causing 7500 dollars of damage to my jetta and they didn't total it. atleast you're alright, that's what matters.

[ASIAN JUL]

Jeez, Cindy, I'm glad you're alright - I hope the car can be fixed!

[DPancoast]

Man, thats so crazy that he just left... but again, lets not get all worked up haha... thats the last thing you need.