My sister's car accident: March 16th 2012

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

On March 16th, 2012 at approximately 11:30 PM, my sister and her fiance were involved in a rollover accident with their 2001 Mistubishi Montero Sport. They both survived with minor injuries, the worst being my sister needing 14 stitches in her index finger on her right hand and a mild concussion.

According to what my sister remembers from before the accident, her fiance had an asthma attack and let go of the steering wheel. She reached out to grab it, he jerks the wheel while trying to regain his composure from the asthma attack and accidentally hits the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the vehicle to flip over numerous times. After the vehicle comes to a stop, he and my sister get out of the vehicle since her says he smelled gasoline. The first vehicle to see the accident doesn't even bother stopping, but fortunately a passing preacher, his wife, a lady with children and several bikers stop to help. The bikers help direct traffic while someone calls 911.

The folks who stopped to help have my eternal thanks and I hope someday I can thank them in person.

Here's a few pics of the vehicle in the salvage yard where the wrecker dropped it off.



The wreck could've been so much worse and I'm thankful they only had minor injuries. I would've liked for this to have never happened, but I have no control over when an accident will occur. I can deal with a wrecked car, but I can't deal with having to bury a sibling.

[Regular Guy]

Wow, glad your sister and her fiance are okay.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Thanks, Regular Guy.

I'm glad they're ok as well.

One thing my sister noticed about the date of the wreck is that it was to have been the date she was getting married next March. Needless to say, the wedding date has now changed.

[majorhavoc]

Holy cow, the vehicle rolls over multiple times, does that kind of damage and they just "get out" of the vehicle? They are so fortunate they weren't seriously injured. Just looking at the degree of cabin intrusion, it's a miracle neither ended up with serious head injuries. So glad to hear they are ok.

[raptor]

12_guage_chimp I am glad no one was seriously injured. thank you for sharing this sobering reminder for everyone.

We prepare for many emergencies here but for the vast majority of us traffic accidents are the most likely and highest danger risk we face. I say highest danger due to the high probability of occurrence coupled with the high potential for severity of injury.

Folks a safe driving course and a high speed driving course makes a lot of sense for all of us. We practice on the range, but how often do we practice accident avoidance maneuvers?

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Holy cow, the vehicle rolls over multiple times, does that kind of damage and they just "get out" of the vehicle? They are so fortunate they weren't seriously injured. Just looking at the degree of cabin intrusion, it's a miracle neither ended up with serious head injuries. So glad to hear they are ok.

Yeah, looking at the wreck itself in real life made me wonder how they survived at all. One thing about the wreck that got me wondering is why the airbags didn't deploy. You'd think with the amount of damage to the vehicle, they would've popped out, right ?

12_guage_chimp I am glad no one was seriously injured. thank you for sharing this sobering reminder for everyone.

We prepare for many emergencies here but for the vast majority of us traffic accidents are the most likely and highest danger risk we face. I say highest danger due to the high probability of occurrence coupled with the high potential for severity of injury.

Folks a safe driving course and a high speed driving course makes a lot of sense for all of us. We practice on the range, but how often do we practice accident avoidance maneuvers?

Thanks, Raptor. I was actually wondering whether or not I should post this, but now I'm glad I did.

I'd like it if everyone who read this thread took some kind of safe driving class at some point and got their friends and family to do the same.

[dukman]

It is good to hear no one was seriously injured (they must have been wearing their seatbelts)

Luckily I am not often in the passenger seat, but I have given this type of "what if" scenario some thought in the past since my dad has some heart issues. After grabbing the steering wheel with one hand, I would use my other to try to knock the shifter into neutral.

[wee drop o' bush]

Scary pictures Chimpov!

Glad they're all ok.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Dukman, they were both wearing their seatbelts, which I guess helped limit their injuries to some degree.

As for knocking the shifter into neutral, my sister said she had thought about that, but they flipped before she could do so.

[Laager]

All I can say is Wow! I'm glad to hear that they both made it out with no serious injuries!

[ais4122]

Seatbelts saves lives, and this is the perfect example. An unrestrained occupant would more than likely have been ejected from the vehicle, and if not, would of still received life threatening injuries if not have been outright killed. There was a guardian angel watching over them that day.

[Resolute]

So glad to hear everything was OK with them. To walk away from that is pretty amazing. While stitches and a concussion is nothing to sneeze at, not having a broken bone is pretty awesome. I hope they got some good painkillers - they were bound to be sore for about a week.

Yeah, looking at the wreck itself in real life made me wonder how they survived at all. One thing about the wreck that got me wondering is why the airbags didn't deploy. You'd think with the amount of damage to the vehicle, they would've popped out, right ?

Airbags only pop out if the G forces in a crash are strong enough and in a direction that the airbag would help with. Side and frontal impacts by other cars, mostly, because when they pop, it's an instant pillow and then it's gone. It won't cushion you during a rollover, unfortunately.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

So glad to hear everything was OK with them. To walk away from that is pretty amazing. While stitches and a concussion is nothing to sneeze at, not having a broken bone is pretty awesome. I hope they got some good painkillers - they were bound to be sore for about a week.

Yeah, looking at the wreck itself in real life made me wonder how they survived at all. One thing about the wreck that got me wondering is why the airbags didn't deploy. You'd think with the amount of damage to the vehicle, they would've popped out, right ?

Airbags only pop out if the G forces in a crash are strong enough and in a direction that the airbag would help with. Side and frontal impacts by other cars, mostly, because when they pop, it's an instant pillow and then it's gone. It won't cushion you during a rollover, unfortunately.

That's what I figured, Resolute.

And just to update, we visited the site of the wreck today and managed to find some of their belongings that were thought to be lost.

[wee drop o' bush]

Thats good news Chimpov

Your sister may develop a sore back/neck/shoulders in a few months time. If she does it's important that she goes to a doctor about it.
I was in an accident in December '10 & both parties walked away unhurt thankfully. But within months I started getting bad shoulder pains, which I ignored & are only getting treated now.

I'm really glad they weren't badly hurt

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Thats good news Chimpov

Your sister may develop a sore back/neck/shoulders in a few months time. If she does it's important that she goes to a doctor about it.
I was in an accident in December '10 & both parties walked away unhurt thankfully. But within months I started getting bad shoulder pains, which I ignored & are only getting treated now.

I'm really glad they weren't badly hurt

Well, my sister is going to have to see our doctor about her ribs and back since they've started bugging her lately. Hopefully, she can get treated and be pain free for the rest of her life.

[wee drop o' bush]

She's doing the right thing Chimpov

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

She's doing the right thing Chimpov

Yes she is, Wee Drop.

Now all we can do is wait.

[RoneKiln]

Your sister may develop a sore back/neck/shoulders in a few months time. If she does it's important that she goes to a doctor about it.
I was in an accident in December '10 & both parties walked away unhurt thankfully. But within months I started getting bad shoulder pains, which I ignored & are only getting treated now.

Definately. I have mild, but permanent issues cause I kept trying to tough it out after a wreck. And it took a lot of work to get them back to mild after I finally went for help.

Yay for modern safety features in our cars!