|
Bad news...
It was a bad day, and it got worse as it went on. On the 29th of September, 2000, at about 10:00 P.M., I was involved in an accident that killed my truck.
I don't believe in getting a cool vehicle, just to put it away, and not drive it. Of course, I took it to the opposite extreme, and put about 100 to 300 miles a night delivering pizzas for a small local store. The money was great, and I enjoy driving so much, that it was even fun.
Well, I was on my way to a delivery, and was stopped to make a left hand turn off of the 'main drag' onto a side street. I was distracted by some activity on the road I was about to pull onto, and scanned the road for oncomeing traffic. Well, I saw the car coming, and it was a 1/2 block away, so I proceeded with the turn. I did see the car, but failed to notice the speed in which it was traveling. In the blink of an eye, this Mada Protege was slamming into my truck.(at an unproven high speed) No one was injured more than scratches and small bruises, but both vehicles were totaled. The police, and my insurance company, were not interested in hearing my theory that she was speeding, so I was at fault for not yielding to oncoming traffic. If you were to look at my truck,(which I had weighd in at just over 7,000 pounds) and consider that this Mazda would be lucky to weigh more than 2500 pounds, I think that you'll agree that she couldn't have been doing the claimed 30M.P.H.
Have you ever had one of those days...?
|
|
|
The damage
Here it is. Point of impact, right below the headlight. At this point, i don't know how bad tha damage is. All I knew was my battery was busted, a fuel line was torn, and my insurance was going to go up. |
|
|
Keeps getting worse.
Looking at it from this angle, I start to worry about the frame, look at how far over the whole front clip is.
|
|
|
Something isn't right.
Remember, this is the secondary damage. By this time, I know the frame is toast. Pretzel is more like it. |
|
|
13 inches.
If you look at The center port on the carb, it is supposed to be lined up with the hood release latch. instead, it has been shoved 13 inches to the drivers side.
By this time, I have already crawled under, and seen that the frame is bent, folded, ripped and torn.
|
|
|
Yikes!
You could imagine the fun I had getting that engine out. You can also tell that there is no saving this thing.
At least it was an organ doner. |
|
|
Do I need to say anything on this picture?
|
|
|
Last one
I took this shot a day before it went to its final resting place.
If you look at the frame rail on your right, (drivers side) you can see that it is twisted all the way down the rail. I didn't get any pictures of it, but I was able to see a slight kink clear back where the front of the rear leaf spring mounted. |
|
|
