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Another Prius bites the dust

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by wowser, Aug 12, 2008.

  1. wowser

    wowser New Member

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    I was T-boned by drunken driver chased by the police. No major injuries, I just got banged up bad. The Prius performed perfectly at protecting me. The rear seats were intact. Got hit by a Silverado truck that didn't brake. I spun 180 and smashed into a tree or telephone pole. The police pulled the DUI out with guns drawn. He's facing felony DUI. Now I need to get another Prius and fast! It was a 2008 with just 7000 miles.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Holy s*** that was a major impact. Happy to hear you're not too badly hurt. Any chance you can sue that numnut? Too bad the dui didn't have a weapon, the cops would have had a good excuse to create a terminal wound cavity
     
  3. allemandeL3ft

    allemandeL3ft New Member

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    Just glad your car did what it was supposed to do. What a @#$@ idiot is all I can say about the other driver.
     
  4. Joekc

    Joekc Member

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    Just curious -- did any airbags deploy?
     
  5. abq sfr

    abq sfr New Member

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    WOW, you had a wild ride. Glad you're ok! Looks like the immovable pole/tree impacted the right rear door, it's folded in pretty far. My guess is you'll feel like you were tumbled in a cement mixer tomorrow :(
     
  6. wowser

    wowser New Member

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    Sue? I would just be happy to get my car replaced. My insurance co is telling me I have to get the Police report; the police dept says it takes 10-20 business days to get a report (that could be a month!). They were pretty quick to get me to sign papers to testify against the DUI; the cop woke me in the hospital at 10:30 at night while I was on a morphine drip. They won't even tell me if the DUI had insurance! It's a total joke.
     
  7. wowser

    wowser New Member

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    And yes, airbags went off: drivers and both side curtains. Passenger did not.
     
  8. Qlara

    Qlara New Member

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    Your car literally got beat up *twice* by a truck and a tree, glad to know that you're getting out of this in one piece....Still, you need morphine drip, that's some major pain. Get well soon, and deal with the car replacement thing later.
     
  9. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Wowsie, wowser!
    I'm really glad to hear that you are okay for the most part.

    Can they really wake you up in the hospital to get you to sign things? That sounds a little odd to me. I mean, it would seem that you wouldn't be in a proper state of mind to know what you're signing.

    Good luck with your next Prius.
     
  10. mingoglia

    mingoglia Member

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    Not sure about the law but I think my initial reaction if I was woken up for the police to talk to me would be to tell them to eff off. Then I'd come to my senses and think that if this would help to insure the drunk (who apparently has a tendency of running from the police) remains in jail and off the very same streets where my wife and small kids travel I'd quickly change my tune.

    I witnessed back in '95 a late 70's Chevy Blazer run a red light at very high speed and t-bone a family of 4. I was behind the car that was t-boned when the light turned green and we started going. The guy stumbled out of the truck and beer cans literally fell out when he got out. He was plastered. The cop ultimately had to hand cuff him to a pole to keep him from moving around. There was a mom, a aunt, and 2 school age kids in the back. This was on December 23rd, two days before Christmas. Mom didn't make it and was cut out of the car, and the aunt was air-evac'd. The kids left in the ambulance. I have ZERO respect for anyone that drinks ANYTHING and gets behind the wheel and would ultimately be happy to have someone wake me up in this situation. I was 19 then and this experience is probably why at 32 I still don't drink. Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. :D
     
  11. Celtic Blue

    Celtic Blue New Member

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    Glad you are still with us.

    I got hit like that once by an F-150. Fortunately I had the same size truck. After smashing the engine compartment it made a V i the side of my bed from spinning me around and smacking his truck in the butt.

    Lucky for me I was just sore as hell from having my neck wrenched (spun my head around so far that I had knots on my the back rightside of my head from whacking the left side door window.) I walked away thanks to my seat belt--literally walked about two miles home. The geniuses who blew through the light ended up in the hospital, both smacked the window because they struck the signal post on the other side. Airbags helped 'em with the first impact, but not the second since they deflate quickly (something for folks who don't buckle up to think about.)

    If they had been walking around after the accident I likely would have sent them to the hospital anyway, I was pretty steamed that they had been so stupid. When I started prying at the jammed door of their wrecked vehicle it wasn't to offer assistance. The metal wouldn't give, but it let me vent.
     
  12. mingoglia

    mingoglia Member

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    I know what you went through in a way. My wife got t-boned by a guy doing around 60mph (according to witnesses). According to the witnesses the light was red for several seconds and he just wansn't paying attention. It was a 3 lane road and there were cars stopped on the outer two lanes but the middle lane was clear. My wife was about 2 miles from the house when this happened. She managed to reach her cell phone and call me while she was upside down in her vehicle. To make a long story short, the person that did this came up to me and apologized. All I could say was, "you really don't want to be talking to me right about now". He stepped away and I was able to restrain myself from ultimately ending up in jail. :mad:
     
  13. Dipena

    Dipena Senior Member

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    I am so glad you are OK! I hope you get insurance questions resolved quickly and get your healed self into a new Prius ASAP. And I hope that guy loses his license.
     
  14. kohnen

    kohnen Grumpy, Cranky Senior Member

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    1) I can't say this loudly enough: GET A LAWYER!!! No matter whether your insurance or his insurance will have to pay, the lawyer will make sure that you will get treated correctly. They can even get someone to help you get a replacement car in a timely manner.

    2) Glad that the expendable Prius gave its life for your non-expendable body. Get better quickly.

    3) Woo Hoo! Another Prius 2nd Gen battery and engine on the market!
     
  15. Ichiro

    Ichiro Member

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    Since I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old that often ride in back (in baby seats), I'm very interested to see how the Prius fares in these types of accidents.

    wowser, it looks like one of your rear doors got pushed in quite a bit and the side curtain airbags deployed. if someone was sitting in either back seat, how well do you think they would have survived the impact?

    nothing gets me more angry than assholes, idiots, and criminals who put my children at risk of harm.
     
  16. wowser

    wowser New Member

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    Yes, both side airbags went off all along the side of the car to the back. The rear area was pretty much intact. The seats and seat backs weren't pushed in or intruded on much, if at all. I think had my kids been in the back they would have had minor injuries but been shaken badly and sore like I am from the trauma. I am sold on the Prius' safety. Now if can only get another one. My fears are being realized as I believe inventory has dried up and I will probably be paying a lot more monthly for a replacement. All because a stupid drunk driver thought he could outrun the police after getting plastered.
     
  17. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Your insurance should make you whole. You shouldn't end up paying for someone else's bad driving. Get an attorney if need be, but the cost of this shouldn't come out of your pocket.

    Tom
     
  18. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Get a lawyer. Yes. Definitely.

    Our son's car was totalled by an RV... the lawyer is making sure that the insurance companies aren't keeping the $$$ for themselves! (he got a replacement payoff, not just the "blue book" payoff, for the car, because he has a lawyer. That right there is a substantial difference)
     
  19. Celtic Blue

    Celtic Blue New Member

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    In the case of this car, part of the replacement cost will be rental while you await a new vehicle. Either that or they could pay whatever sum it takes to get another in the same condition as yours was in right before the accident. (That appears to be several thousand above MSRP at the moment.)
     
  20. abq sfr

    abq sfr New Member

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    Be glad you got both ends smashed. I got my minivan hit in the left rear, initially it came up totaled. Then they decided not to total it, they found a minivan in AZ that had the front totalled, cut it in half, shipped the rear half to NM and welded it onto mine. I got it back and the seats would not roll on the tracks, they said it could not be fixed. I was in a rental car for over 6 months. Later I found out the State Farm adjuster was the brother in law of the owner of the repair shop I picked, just my luck. Those guys and their families took a really nice vacation that year. Oh... and did somebody mention get a lawyer??