• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

Ka-pow.

M

marc_w

Full Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Messages
1,112
Location
Douglas, MA
Well, I got in a rather nasty accident today.

Just left work, travelling on a four lane highway. ?Moderate traffic. ?The line of cars I was behind crests a hill, and all do a hard brake check. ?I get on the binders, and slow down rather hard. ?I glance to my rear-view mirror, concerned about the truck behind me. ?I see his nose dive, and modulate my braking to give this guy the most amount of room. ?I'm rolling up to the car in front of me, when I see a flash in my rear-view, and feel a stick of dynamite go off behind me. ?The truck lost it's brakes, and hit me at a good 35mph. ?I got pushed into the Taurus SHO in front of me, and that car into the Neon in front of it. ?The truck doing the hittin' was a 90's era GM 2500 shortbed.

Damage:

The other truck - front end severly pushed in. Into the wheels. Undriveable. ?Leaking brake fluid.

The SHO - totalled. ?No trunk or sheet metal (besides the exhaust and mufflers) very far rearward of the back wheels. ?Mild front end damage.

Neon - mildly damged rear bumper, not much else.

The Av. ?:6:

Front end: ?Bumper pushed in like a V, hood dented and unopenable, fog light, chrome grill, grey grill pieces, bowtie, associated body-color-grille-frame. ?Hood latch pushed up into the radiator by a stray piece of SHO. ?Tow hooks, brackets underneath, and possibly the radiator support up front. ?The driver side is about 3/4-1" ?further in than the left. ?Body gap between the front fenders and the doors are uneven. ?Slightly larger on the drivers side.

Rear: ?I had a ball and shank in my reciever... ?Bumper, reciever, shank - all pushed down at a 45* angle. ?The frame tweaked - it was the weak point back there. The bumper, shank and reciever brackets are all straight. ?Body mount in passenger rear mildly seperating from the frame and body. Tailgate heavily scratched, plastic drivers side rear quarter damaged. ?Plastic on all of the rear bumper parts. ?Spare tire shaft pierced through bumper cover.

Interior: seat bent a few inches back from the impact. ?No airbags went off. I think it was because I got a huge "kick" from behind, and a "smoosh" up front.

Amazingly, all four corners of the sheet metal look straight.

Self: ?Hurt back, shoulders and neck, didn't take an abulance ride, but did visit the docs when I got home. ?Just got back.

I was the only one able to drive away, after duct taping a headlight back in place. ?The front bumper IS close to the wheels, but not close enough to cause problems. ?The Neon was towed because the lady was injured and taken away.

I'm not sure if the truck will be totalled or not. ?The frame is really tweaked out back. That worries me about it's towing integrity if they decide to hack and weld, or try to straighten. ?If they decide the frame is fixable, it won't be totalled.

What do you guys think about this frame issue?

Sorry about lack of pics. ?No digital camera.
 
Sorry to hear about your misfortune! But glad you are basically alright, time will heal all wounds. As far as the frame issue, depends on the ins company, try to set up a meeting with adjuster and rep from ins and make sure all of your concerns are addressed and don't give up, and don't threaten. Hope your pains go away soon!
 
Thanks guys. :)

Any tips on dealing with the adjusters? Should I bring an extra floor dolley with me so we can roll around under the truck? ;)

I'm not to concerned about the truck. In all honesty, I may be a little bummed if it's not totalled. It's gonna take some time to fix, and I don't feel as though it'll ever be the same.
 
hope it all works out for you... am glad to hear that you're not hurt too badly.

Sandwiches are the worst
 
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate accident. I'm also glad to hear that you sustained no serious injuries. Lastly, I'm glad to hear you AV took the accident well, but I'm also sorry your AV got crunched.
 
Thanks again, you guys are awesome. :)

I'm not looking forward to dealing with the insurance mess with this. ?Anyone know how Massachusetts will handle this?

I think that even though this wasn't my fault - because my 'front end' struck the 'back end' of the car in front of me, I'm 100% at fault for the SHO's damage.

Very uncool!
 
marc_w said:
Thanks again, you guys are awesome. :)

I'm not looking forward to dealing with the insurance mess with this. ?Anyone know how Massachusetts will handle this?

I think that even though this wasn't my fault - because my 'front end' struck the 'back end' of the car in front of me, I'm 100% at fault for the SHO's damage.

Very uncool!
Click to expand...

First, sorry about the accident. :(

In Missouri, the rule of thumb is "Whoever did the hitting is at fault" but there are exceptions.

#1 exception is if there were tickets issued. Where there?
#2 exception is if you were stopped when hit. If you were stopped and the truck hitting you caused you to hit the SHO, then you are clear from liability. Same with the SHO and the Neon. It could turn out that all the damage is on the guy who hit you.

Those are the two exceptions I can think of right now. When you start to give statements, think long and hard about what happened. I was in a 3 car accident where a some girl in a Camry (I think) hit an Accord and the Accord hit me. All I could remember is that I only felt one impact, meaning the girl hit the Accord, then I was hit. It all went back on the girl.

Good luck with the insurance companies. What will most likely happen is each issurance company will pay to fix their clients cars, then will work (or sue) to get reimbursed by the at-fault party. That's good because your Av will get fixed/replaced quicker that way.

Craig
 
Thanks Craig, that helps a lot.

I believe I told the officer I was coming to a stop (the whole modulating thing) when I was hit - he then asked if I was coming to a stop safely. I replied yes. That's about as far as my little side of the story went. I don't believe I was at a complete stop just yet... maybe down to about 2-5mph though. Very close. It's real fuzzy right now.

I know the guy that did the hitting said to us and probably the cops, that he went to stop, the truck responded, then it just kept on going. That coinsides with the flash I saw in my mirror.

I'll keep you guys updated... this should be interesting. :)

Oh, and my buddy's got a camera - I'll have to bug him tomorrow evening when he's outta work.
 
marc-w, the original hitter is at fault, and yes, each ins co will fix or replace the client's ride.... Go for replacement, it's never the same . It's like when you find out your girlfriendhas been out with somebody else.. its never the same after that, just doesnt have the same "feel " on the road..and that's really sad even though its somebody else's fault.. Go for replacement. Check and recheck with the doc about your aches and pains, can come back to haunt oyu later .. documentation, documentation, documentation, keep records... get good atty..not some ambulance chaser.. and sit back.... take care , get well, we're behind you ... gizmo
 
Marc what a bummer, sorry about you AV Ka-pow. Glad your okay, just don't sign any releases till your sure you have no problems, with the adrenalin flowing after an accident it may be a day or two for problems to show up.
See you Sunday minus your AV. :(
 
Marc,

Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope everything turns out ok. I'm glad nobody was seriously hurt.

-Mark
 
Man I am sorry to hear about that... these stories always impress me that the av comes out relatively better off than the others involved. I know it doesn't help... but at least you weren't seriously hurt. I hope the av gets back to normal soon. :cry:
 
Marc,

Sorry to hear about the accident.

Speaking from experience, don't mess around with that back stuff. Go to the best doctor you can find. Make sure you have plenty of tests on an ongoing basis. There can be lingering problems caused by these kinds of rear impacts. I hope your Av gets fixed soon and that you are able to make a permanent recovery from your injuries.
 
Marc, sorry about the accident. I had a super clean '92 Sportside not quite 3 yrs old and a Woman pulled out in front of me. Wiped out the front end, most of it on the Passengers side. The more they got into the repairs the more they found damaged. Originally they were to straighten the right front frame but discovered they couldn't. So welded on a new section. I gotta tell you, other than some peeling paint I could not find fault with the repairs. I drove it another 2 yrs and 20k miles afterwards and never any problems. Oh, other than a dented shock that somehow got missed. BUT, I could not get the Ins. Co. to compensate me for lost value and I KNEW what was going to happen come trade-in time. I went to 6 diff. Dealers and 4 of the 6 took one look and asked "why was it repainted"? And offered $3-$4k below trade-in. I traded at one of the other two Dealers who never mentioned it, and got within a few hundred of what I wanted. Good luck with it. BTW, many Ins. Companies have repair shops that they recommend, and all work is Guanteed by them if you use one.
 
Marc,

Major bummer :6:

Glad you are ok. :)

I was thinking...you said the guys breaks failed. It sounded as if he punched them and blew a hose or seal, hence all the brake fluid on the ground.(could be from impact too). Maybe the guy who hit you will go after GM for a break failure. If he has a case, GM may be on the hook to fix everybody. I'm not sure if that will help with a replacement of your AV or not.
Just something I thought about.
Good luck either way.


CT
 
Glad to hear you seem to be OK. In my recent accident (which is why I now have my beloved Avalanche) my neck/shoulder/back pain came on after a couple of days. I hope yours heals quickly like mine seems to have.

Don't have any tips for insurance as this was my first accident and a drunk driver hit me, so their insurance company came off of the money rather quickly. Mine paid all medical no problem.

I'm kind of surprised that the truck was not found to be at fault, brake failure or no.

I couldn't decide whether I wished my old truck to be totalled or not. I knew I couldn't replace it for what it was worth with anything near as nice as I kept it. We ended up taking the money from my totalled truck to pay off the last year of our loan on my wife's car and got my Av one year earlier than planned.

I hope this is all resolved for you soon and that you can get a new Av.

Rich
 
Marc,

Bums me out when an AV and driver both get hurt. Hope your back up and running soon. Defiantly take care of those aches and pairs they can come back to haunt you. I got a bad neck and back from a roll over accident that I did not know about for almost a week. As for the AV, if she were mine I'd want them to total it. Some body shops work miricals some do not, why chance it? What ever comes out of it best of luck.


dday
 
With all the accidents I've read about here and elsewhere on the net (and their few, thank God) I have never heard of the airbags going off?
 
Glad to hear that you are o.k. Make sure you monitor your back, and neck. If it gets worse, or doesn't get better, seek care immediately or issurance may forget about you.

As for your truck and your insurance. If that frame is bent...GET ON YOUR INSURANCE CO. HARD about totaling it. I know they can do wonderous things these days, but the truck WILL NEVER DRIVE THE SAME AGAIN!!!!! Not only that, but now that "serious" accident will most likely show up on a car fax report taking your resale price way down. It probably won't be easy, but you really have to fight like hell with the insurance company to get it totaled. Companies are'nt totaling cars as much anymore. I was in the body shop beause someone keyed my tahoe. There was a 01' Expedition in there that was MESSED up. They were going to do a total body off frame repair. They said it will take 6 months and around $30,000. Insurance Co. did'nt want to total it. They said it will drive fine afterwards, but it will lose a little bit. Being I have'nt seen pics, I can't judge the damages.....I'd battle it out with the insurance co. for sure. Good luck, and hope your back gets well soon.

justhrowit
 
Marc: Sorry to hear about the accident. Make sure you get yourself checked out if you are sore at all! If you bent the seat you had some pretty good force hit you.

Here's some info from the Mass. bar association about what to do when filing an insurance claim. Hopefully everything gets worked out quickly and you and your AV are back up to speed soon! :)
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone. :)

I just got back from the insurance company - I'm not at fault for any of it - no surchargers or anything (THANK YOU!). I was worried because I'm working on a 3-year 'good boy' program where MA insurance companies will drop you a bunch of points if you don't get any tickets in that period. (recovering from my teenaged 'goof around days')

I'm looking to get a rental this afternoon - gotta call the main company in a bit.

The frame is worrying me. The front is absolutely repairable, it just needs everything from the radiator forward, minus a few things like the passenger side lights and a few brackets I'm sure.

The frame though - where the rear bumper and the trailer hitch mount to the frame, it's all kinked and bent up under itself. The passenger side has a twist to it too. Apparently all the brackets for the bumper/trailer hitch are stronger than the frame. It's got such a kink that if they straighten it, I'm almost certain it'll unfold and crack. I don't want any welding or additional brackets under there. :mad:

There IS some sheet metal damage under the drivers rear plastic. I can picture a shop straightening this out with a BFH. :rolleyes:

I'm feeling "allright" today. Still sore, that's for sure. It comes and goes. I'm actually a little sketchy in an automobile now. It's kind of funny. I rode as a passenger down to the insurance company, and jumped a mile in the air when the car in front of us braked quick for a pothole in the center of town. :p I gotta tell myself to knock it off!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top