Got hit by a car today...

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ramenth

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..and it was my fault. I usually don't post about the dumba** stuff we've all done, but figured I would on this one if it means helping a brother or sister out and making sure his or her head is in the game.

Had to tow one in today. Dead Mercury Moutaineer which slung the serp belt. Well, we have a tow dolly for these occasions, so I went and got it. Had to drop the rear shaft since it's an AWD drive and wouldn't pull with the rears on the ground and fronts on the deck. Got it up in front of the shop and wanted to roll it back in the grass. So I unhooked the straps and the safety chains. Forgot the rear shaft wasn't in it...

It jumped off the deck before I even had a chance to pop the deck release.

Let me set the scenario for you a bit. The garage is at my buddy's house. He has a nice size yard. Okay, actually a big yard with a pond in it. The driveway to the shop goes up a rather steep incline. The truck jumped off the deck and started on it's merry way. I ran after it, got the door open and before I could say "stop" the door hit me, knocking me to the ground. Luckily it knocked me away from the truck.

But it get's better. The truck went down the driveway and flew into the yard, where it started towards a nice size tree. Before it got to the tree, it suddenly veered to the left, where it missed not just the first one, but also a second one, before skipping back across the driving, where it went between two other trees, heading for yet another, even larger tree. Somehow it veered suddenly to the left, again, before winding up in a ditch. Sideways.

No damage done to the vehicle, thankfully (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) except a blown left front tire which got rolled off the bead when it went into the ditch. Don't ask me how, but it missed six trees, all large enough to take it out...

The damage was done to me... The door hit me hard enough to actually leave paint on my jeans.

I've gotten used to working alone since my buddy went back to the steady paycheck. This is one instance where I should have called for help. The parking brake was useless. It's an automatic, 4 wheel disk Ford. The owners never use it and it's one big ball of unmoving rust in the rotors. I tried it when I first put it on the dolly.

Here's the damage to my leg:

View attachment 175235

Walking with a cane at the moment. When I first got home my wife had to help me up the steps into the house. Driving home, pushing the clutch in the Ramcharger was a pain in the ***. The further I went, the stiffer I got. And it seems like Elmira is full of traffic lights and colored blind idiots (oh, you mean the light's green). My neighbor is a nurse who was gracious enough to come over and look at it. Keep it elevated, but move it (this deep of a bruise can cause a clot) and take something for the pain. Try to keep it clean.

The moral? Don't get complacent. Keep your head in the game. I'm not normally accident prone, but when I do have 'em they are doozies.
 
Wheeew eeeee!


Since you've been up to see the place, John, you can imagine where it took off to. Down from the garage and headed out towards the pond, before snaking it's way through the trees and winding up almost in the woods along side the driveway.

Danged leg feels like it's on fire at times. Muscle's twitching all on it's own, can't place weight on it much. Just got lucky it didn't sling me under the friggin' thing...
 
Damn, that`ll teach ya to chase after runaway tonage. I know, first instinct. When I was a kid, I used to listen to my engines before I shut em off, forget E brake and in netrual. 3 times poor car took a ride!! lucked out each time. Another was a 53 ferd truck, underneath it looking at something and it started to roll down my drive. front tire was about a foot from my chest, You never seen somebody come out from underneath a car so fast, jumped in and stopped it8) Oh and lastly only back in 99 a buddy stopped by to see my new work rig/1 ton. Says pop the hood, well I think you can guess the rest.. in netrual and popped the E-brake:tongue3:
 
Wow Robert, I'm glad your Ok. That's gonna hurt worse tomorrow along with the other pains that will most likely hit you in the next couple days. That could have very easily gone really bad. MMG
 
Thank Goodness you're OK and not dead. I'll bet it hurts like an SOB but the whole senario could have been much, much worse.

When I first moved here I tried to explain why no emergency brakes ever worked out East:

A: Nobody ever uses them because it's so dang flat.

B: Rust is a killer.

C: Salted roads (see B above).

Thanks for the reminder to have/use blocks when towing. I hope you recover fully and soon.
 
Robert my man,

Aren't you still healing up from your surgery???? You are quite a lucky man. Glad you are here to tell us about this very exciting day you had. How about soaking in a hot bath for muscle pain relief. I know it sure helps me when my back acts up.

Kim
 
Wow, Im picturing the whole scenario in my head and you are one lucky guy, although your leg might not feel like it!! The lord was watching over you there....knocked you away from the truck....and then it misses the 6 trees!! What are the chances of that? Once your feeling better, give your bride the newspaper and let her swat ya with it!! Glad your with us to tell us the story.
 
Yow... sure glad it didn't turn out worse.
 
Robert, Robert, Robert that scared the crap out of me.

Don't ever do that again....please

Take care buddy and be safe

Tony


A bigggg x2 on that one!!! Glad you're alive and not flatter than you were yesterday.

When we moved to Tennessee, my Cuda and Billy's Camaro had their own ride a few days before we moved ...

View attachment 175258

... and we had a big ol' Wally Mo five-car hauler for the rest of our toys. Billy operated the winch and I was behind the wheel for the load-in on all of them. The first was an experience I'll never forget as it started up that big incline -- I know what those wheelstander drivers see now. LOL

View attachment 175259

Once we moved in and got settled, he again ran the winch and I did the steering for the load-out. All that was left was Billy's '76 Astre, a rolling chassis with no seats, packed with crap and loose car parts ... and no brakes.

View attachment 175256

We hymn-ha'ed around for awhile deciding how best to take it down. But after sitting out there in the field for a year and a half, it was time to deal with the problem because the trailer had been sold.

January 23, 2007:

The heavy duty 2500 lb. '64 Ford 2000 series tractor was at the front of the trailer with a safety chain anchoring a crossmember or something on the Astre. The winch cable was hooked to something else (hey, I was up on the trailer deciding I had more room on the passenger side than the driver's side -- hooking stuff up was Billy's department :-)).

His plan was to keep the car at a slow speed using the winch and let it gently down the ramp while I walked alongside the car and kept the wheels straight. Once it got close to the bottom, he'd stop the winch to raise the front of the trailer with the hydraulics and bring the *** end of the trailer the 3 feet it needed to be down on the ground. A nice easy deal.

All was working according to plan, nice and slow, until the Astre got to that first little drop in the deck ....... and whatever was holding the safety chain to the car let go.

I'm walking along backwards probably 12 feet up in the air on about 5 inches of open space on the trailer ramp leaning in from the passenger side with a hand on the steering wheel, nice and slow. All of a sudden the car started speeding up so I had to walk faster. When it got to the second steeper incline it really kicked in! Faced with either jumping off the top of the hauler backwards or keeping up with the car, I had no choice but to just hop in the open door onto the sill plate and hang the hell on.

A few moments later there was a feeling of nothingness, and then WHAM!!!! And then another impact as the front end of the car hit the ground. It kept on going down the hill towards the creek for about 30 feet when the car came to an abrupt halt: the end of the winch cable. Thank God -- I thought I was gonna end up in the ditch.

By the time I stood up and started walking it off a little, Billy was running down the hill toward me. His face was white as a sheet.

This was my right hip / leg the next day ...

View attachment 175257

... and for about 3 months afterwards. It hurt like hell and looked a lot worse than this before it finally started looking better.

It was one hell of a wild ride I won't forget ... or want to repeat.

Robert, though I didn't get run over by the door, I think I know a little bit how you feel. Thanks for sharing your scary story; I agree it's better to learn from others' mistakes than from our own, so I shared mine too. I'm truly glad you're all right.
 
At least you live to screw up another day. :poke: :-D

I hate Furdz


Wylde1.

No doubt that there will be more screw ups. Just no more of this kind.

fords suck! glad ur alright!

Thanks, man.

I know you're both just poking the stick, but it's not a Ford thing. Not really. Just check out what Ramcharger said. He's pretty much got it right.
 
Damn, that`ll teach ya to chase after runaway tonage. I know, first instinct. When I was a kid, I used to listen to my engines before I shut em off, forget E brake and in netrual. 3 times poor car took a ride!! lucked out each time. Another was a 53 ferd truck, underneath it looking at something and it started to roll down my drive. front tire was about a foot from my chest, You never seen somebody come out from underneath a car so fast, jumped in and stopped it8) Oh and lastly only back in 99 a buddy stopped by to see my new work rig/1 ton. Says pop the hood, well I think you can guess the rest.. in netrual and popped the E-brake:tongue3:

You're right. The first instinct is to save it before any damage is done. Not the smartest of ideas, but when you're thinking of damage to another's vehicle, money out of pocket to fix it, and then damage to a burgeoning reputation... common sense seems to take a fly.
 
Wow Robert, I'm glad your Ok. That's gonna hurt worse tomorrow along with the other pains that will most likely hit you in the next couple days. That could have very easily gone really bad. MMG

You're right, Christopher. It could have gone a lot worse. I'm sitting here thinking what if I had gotten pitched under the truck. It's hurts a lot more now. Besides the scrape the bruising is really settling in, nice and black and blue, as swell as being swollen a good inch above the rest of the muscle.

Sorry to hear about this Robert, prayers sent for a quick recovery.

Thanks, bud. Prayers always help!

Tough luck... glad you are ok!

Yow... sure glad it didn't turn out worse.

Glad to hear your okay Robert, I call scars experience reminders. And I've gotten lots of experience over the years!

I like the name for scars, Stan. I've got plenty of 'em and remember the story behind each one. They help remind what not to do next time.

The old run away truck story. Quick recover.

Sure was a runaway, Adam. Thanks on the recovery.
 
Thank Goodness you're OK and not dead. I'll bet it hurts like an SOB but the whole senario could have been much, much worse.

When I first moved here I tried to explain why no emergency brakes ever worked out East:

A: Nobody ever uses them because it's so dang flat.

B: Rust is a killer.

C: Salted roads (see B above).

Thanks for the reminder to have/use blocks when towing. I hope you recover fully and soon.


Not real flat around here, Joe. The Finger Lakes are in the Appalachian Chain leading up to the Adirondacks. Not what you're used to seeing, of course, but still some sizable hills.

The thing is, everyone takes for granted the automatics will hold the car and never think about the emergency brake. Even doing state inspections I was a little lenient on customers over this: I could hit the customer for hundreds in repairs to get it working properly and watch the customer never use it again. Even with the expenditure, most still wouldn't learn the lesson to set it every now and then to keep the cables moving and to break the rust loose. Even after I explained to 'em how to keep from having to spend this money every year...people still don't get it.
 
Robert my man,

Aren't you still healing up from your surgery???? You are quite a lucky man. Glad you are here to tell us about this very exciting day you had. How about soaking in a hot bath for muscle pain relief. I know it sure helps me when my back acts up.

Kim

Yeah, Kim, still recovering a bit from the surgery. Just a few more millimeters of healing to go on that. And the hot bath and cold ice packs will be the prescription for the next few days.

Robert, Robert, Robert that scared the crap out of me.

Don't ever do that again....please

Take care buddy and be safe

Tony

Yeah, figured that the thread title might scare some folks, Tony. Sorry about that, but consider it a PSA from an idiot after the fact.
 
Robert, I hope your doing better, sorry I missed the thread, I think we have all tried to save a material item from harm at the expense of our bodies, especially when a customer is involved. I'll be praying for your quick recovery.

Scott
 
Wow, Im picturing the whole scenario in my head and you are one lucky guy, although your leg might not feel like it!! The lord was watching over you there....knocked you away from the truck....and then it misses the 6 trees!! What are the chances of that? Once your feeling better, give your bride the newspaper and let her swat ya with it!! Glad your with us to tell us the story.

My buddy's wife and I were talking about just that very thing. It was amazing how it weaved around the trees. The first three trees are fairly close together and the last three trees are even closer. Watching the whole thing play out it looked like a drunken sailor was driving and just got lucky... Can angels drive?

The pain is definitely one of God's reminders to stop!

As for the bride: she has a wicked sense of humor. "Only you, Robert, can get hit by a car with no driver!" Like I said, when I mess up, it's usually a doozy!
 

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