Old lady totaled her Jeep today...

[big in vegas]

So I'm sitting at my dad's store watching basketball when I get the worst call in the world. I can tell she's crying when I answer the phone and she tells me that she got into a bad wreck. This is the second time I've gotten this call since I've known her. Basically she first said she was texting, but now can't remember if she was or not. She doesn't get service where she was so I don't know if she would have been or not. Anyway she went off the side on the road a little bit (decent drop from pavement to dirt) and when she went to pull it back out the pavement she lost control and hit a little ditch which kicked her back out and straight into a stone wall. The wall was lining a driveway so it was those large landscaping stones that people used years ago for house foundations.

The Wrangler was a '90 so no airbags and she wasn't wearing a seatbelt so she hit the steering wheel (bent it to holy hell and back) then her head busted the windshield. I had to move the car out of the driveway (surprisingly it started right up) and when I would turn the steering wheel it was actually hitting the turn signal lever. That is how badlt she bent the wheel when she hit it.

We went to the e.r. and luckily she walked away with a concussion, bruised sternum, bruised ribs and other minor bruises and cuts. After seeing the wreck and hitting a stone wall (actually crushing some stones) at 40-45 mph I'm shocked that she lived through it yet alone with virtually nothing serious. I'm still in disbelief that she got so lucky. It hit me while we were in the e.r that if I had been in the car I probably wouldn't have been so lucky since I wouldn't have had the steering wheel to stop me from going entirely through the windshield. I'm not against seatbelts at all, but I just got lucky to have one on when I totaled my car and luckt to not have it on when I got t-boned on the driver's side. So I feel like from personal experience it is a toss up, just depends on the wreck. I know in this case it would have helped her to have it on.

Anyway I had just been with her before she left and she had only been gone maybe 5 minutes when this happened. I know we've all heard it many times, but don't ever take things for granted, tell people you love them any chance you get because you truly never know when that'll be the last time you see them. We got lucky this time, but it could have and maybe should have been worse. God was certainly on her side with this one.

 

[CH3NO2]

WOW... The Jeep can be replaced, she cannot. Glad to hear she will recover. Tells you just how fragile life is.

 

[Metal85]

Damn bro, sorry to hear that man!

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Damn bro, sorry to hear that man!

 

[Presser]

WOW... The Jeep can be replaced, she cannot. Glad to hear she will recover. Tells you just how fragile life is.

I 2nd that! and I am glad she is ok as well bro! Hope she heels up fast and everything works out for ya, and I am there if ya need me brutha like i said before

 

[The Survivor]

I had a 1989 wrangler for many yrs, loved it and miss it. So I think I can see what your wife must have gone thru, they ride rough anyway. Thank the good lord she is alive, banged up a bit but sounds like she will make a full recovery.

Will keep all you in my prayers at church.....true what you said about taking for granted, I never end a converation on a sour or hateful note. You never know when it may be the last thing you say to them

 

[exbeanpole]

Good lord! I'm so relieved she escaped with the just the injuries she sustained. I've recieved waaayyy too many phone calls like that, and my hair was standing up on my whole body until I could read down to the part saying she was ok. I'd consider that a small miracle that she's ok, I hope she wears her seat belt from now on. I't snowing here, about 6 of 10 the inches they forecasted are on the ground and Lil Lifter left about an hour ago to hit the gym. She's in my Subaru and she's a very good driver but it's other idiots that worry me. I'm texting her now to say be careful and tell her I love her! Take care of that little lady and keep her safe.

 

[The Dude]

Good to hear she is OK. It's crazy how just a moment of distraction can have such tremendous consequences. I drive like an old lady now because of all the horrible accidents I've seen. CH3N02 makes fun of me... I think I was actually being passed by an old lady in a dump truck at the time though Lol!

 

[big in vegas]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the responses. She's pretty sore today which was to be expected, but she doesn't have any head problems which is great. The soreness and bruising will heal up in a few days, I don't think there will be any permanent scarring or anything, but a couple of cuts and scrapes (under her chin from the steering wheel, her knees from hitting the dash) but that's about it. It's crazy to believe that's the worst of it after hitting a wall head on at 35-40 MPH.

I never really cared for the Jeep the way it is, she's not necessarily a bad driver, but not the best either. I drive for a living so I'm very critical when it comes to driving and I'm always on the defensive and in a weird way can almost see danger before it happens because I'm always expecting the worse to happen. I've been trained at work to always be aware of anything that can happen and being a good driver isn't simply about not being responsible for a wreck, but also preventing them by knowing what CAN happen. I used to drive irresponsibly, but since I've taken this job and went through their driving school and all of their driving habits being beaten into my mind it's made me a better driver.

We get a lot of snow around here and it's generally the other people you have to worry about and although there was no snow or rain on the ground, things like this can always happen. It's just a matter of not panicking if something goes wrong. This is where she fails, she gets very rattled behind the wheel and this could have played a factor in what happened, but we will never know.

But again, thanks for the kind words and prayers guys, I really do appreciate it and I'm glad to have such caring people around here. She's very thankful for everything that has been said as well as I just let her read everything.

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You can see where the impact was when her head hit the windshield. Luckily the Jeep sits high enough off the ground and absorbed a lot of the impact. We also have a VW Bug that she drives also and I truly think if she had been in the car the outcome would've been totally different

 

[big in vegas]

Good to hear she is OK. It's crazy how just a moment of distraction can have such tremendous consequences. I drive like an old lady now because of all the horrible accidents I've seen. CH3N02 makes fun of me... I think I was actually being passed by an old lady in a dump truck at the time though Lol!

That's how I am too. I am scared to drive over 75 on the interstate (speed limit is 70 here). I don't go any faster than the speed limit on any road otherwise. I take turns slowly, I will wait 5 seconds to let someone pass me before I pull out in front of them. It's crazy, I've just seen a lot of accidents and people are stupid when behind the wheel so it's hard to predict what they might do

 

[dorian123]

this is one of the reasons that I had a grill guard put on the front of my Dodge, I had a buddy that slipped off the road in a snow storm bounce off a tree at 45mph and kept going

the grill guard that he had was an old rusty flimsy looking one-but it did the trick and was tougher than it looked

 

[big in vegas]

this is one of the reasons that I had a grill guard put on the front of my Dodge, I had a buddy that slipped off the road in a snow storm bounce off a tree at 45mph and kept going

the grill guard that he had was an old rusty flimsy looking one-but it did the trick and was tougher than it looked

Yea, those are life savers. I had a full brush guard on my F-150 and had slid into a telephone pole in the winter and had a woman pull out in front of me causing me to hit the rear corner of her car after bouncing off a concrete barrier (tried to avoid hitting her by going into the barrier instead) and out of both of those all I damaged was my headlight housing. It got cracked and needed replaced, but that was well worth the money. I should have had something on the front of this, but hind sight is always 20/20

 

[dorian123]

good thing about jeeps they are tough...she must have taken some serious hits to twist it up like that

 

[big in vegas]

good thing about jeeps they are tough...she must have taken some serious hits to twist it up like that

In addition to hitting the wall at 35-40 mph I don't know what else she hit other a mailbox

 

[The Survivor]

Looks like your wife had a Wrangler YJ distinquisted by the sqaure headlights, likely a inline 6 cylinder 4.2 liter. Jeeps were fun in summer w/the top off and 4WD is nice in winter BUT they arent real practable for everyday driving, the aerodymanics are terrible, like driving a billboard down the road with the flat as hell windshield gave not so good milage. Plus the suspension was crude at best and you felt every bump in the road.

Anyway glad shes going to be fine....

 

[1MoreRep]

Glad shes ok man. When my wife and I got together I got her in the habbit of wearing a seatbelt and locking her doors as soon as she gets in. I agree tho it does depend of the wreck if the seat belt would help or hurt you.

 

[exbeanpole]

That's crazy how well the Jeep absorbed that kind of impact! The Jeeps small windshield, low seating postion behind the wheel, and the thing being built like a tank probably saved her life. Scary shit bro, I'm glad she's ok, could've been so much worse.

 

[Lil Lifter]

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's accident. Sooooo happy to hear she is OK with minimal injury. Woww she was very fortunate!! Cars can be replaced....people that we love can not!! Happy day she is well and on the mend!!

 

[big in vegas]

Yep it had the 4.2 6 cylinder with the carb. I always told her not to drive on the interstate when the wind was bad because it is the most non-aerodynamic car ive ever driven. When it came to going off road or in the snow it was a beast, but other than that i hated that Jeep. Im not impressed with any Wrangler though. Now she is wanting a 2013 Wrangler with soft top and I am feeling fighting her on this because I want something more safe

Looks like your wife had a Wrangler YJ distinquisted by the sqaure headlights, likely a inline 6 cylinder 4.2 liter. Jeeps were fun in summer w/the top off and 4WD is nice in winter BUT they arent real practable for everyday driving, the aerodymanics are terrible, like driving a billboard down the road with the flat as hell windshield gave not so good milage. Plus the suspension was crude at best and you felt every bump in the road.

Anyway glad shes going to be fine....

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That's crazy how well the Jeep absorbed that kind of impact! The Jeeps small windshield, low seating postion behind the wheel, and the thing being built like a tank probably saved her life. Scary shit bro, I'm glad she's ok, could've been so much worse.

Yea the frame and front end steel really absorbed a lot of impact. It was impressive actually. I truly think if she was in something lower to the ground she wouldn't have been so lucky

 

[big in vegas]

Thanks again guys, all the caring comments only confirm my love for this board and the members and why I'll never go anywhere else. I am closer to you guys than some of my friends. You guys listen and actually care for one another and it means a lot to me and I know I'm not alone. She is doing a lot better today and is actually moving around better. She is really showing the bruises now, but she is functional and has actually gotten out of the house and is cooking and back to doing normal things. I didn't think she would be moving around this quickly, but she is really proving how tough she truly is. I couldn't be happier to know that she is going to be fully recovered although I'd still love to take her place, pain and everything.

 

[dorian123]

glad to see she's getting better

recovery is NEVER an easy thing