Thurday night was a very bad night!!!

[GrillMaster]

I got off work at 10:30 PM Thursday night and on the way home 2 middle age women driving a small suv ran a red light! They were drunk...I hit them hard going about 40 mph between the drivers side door an the front. No skid marks! Thats how fast they were going. I never had a chance to do anything, not even hit the brakes.

I did a flip inside the cab after the airbag went off an landed upside down in the passenger seat. I wasn't wearing a seat bealt. :( Needless to say I am a little stiff in the neck right now.

They had to take both of the women in ambulance to the hospital. I believe when the driver was released they arrested her. My wife drove me to the hospital to get checked out an when we were there a cop was waiting outside thier room a couple doors down.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj243/basstalker/S5000996.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj243/basstalker/S5000993.jpg

Figures it would be right before a snowstorm that I needed to plow...:mad:

Glad I am still here though!! :)

tc
Mark

[GottaBeKiN]

Glad you are still here with us. I had a similar experience before, and the good thing was nobody got hurt seriously. But the stress, between the mind and getting the car fixed, I went through afterward sucks.

[DISCUS USA]

YeaH and insurance companies coming up with all stories in book not to get you your money get things fixed..glad you ok though!!

[brewmaster15]

:(:(:(:(:(:( Thats a real bummer on the Truck Mark...she was a beauty.

Glad that you are okay though!:)

-al

[Greg Richardson]

Are you a believer in wearing a seatbelt now? In Washington State it is a huge fine if you are caught not wearing one. Depending on what I was doing before this law I didn't use to wear one. Now I do and glad they made the law. I've been in two totals both times other drivers fault and very lucky even with the belt to be alive. After viewing shows on crashes I'm quite convinced now to wear them just based on what I saw let alone my experiences.

[Tropical Haven]

I am glad that you are ok, I have been in a few of them myself.

[Ardan]

Glad you are ok Mark! I think the airbag may have saved you some by the looks of the truck.:(

I hope your neck feels better soon!

Ardan

[Elite Aquaria]

Mark,

Sorry to hear that you had such a bad accident...I am glad you and the two women are fine...Sorry about the truck..:(

[alxjss]

wow mark, that is terrible. Glad ur ok. Man, that was close.

[Condor]

Glad your ok, Mark. Thats rough. Those are no fun.:(

Adrian

[BSW]

OH OUCH !!!
Geezz, I'm glad your O.K.
and I hope they have insurance too !
B

[FatFutures]

Glad you made it out in one piece.

WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT!

Ok, didn't mean to yell. It's just that its such a little thing that can make such a HUGE difference.

Hope you're feeling ok.

Michelle

[two utes]

Glad you came out of it Mark. Could have been alot worse mate. You can always replace your vechicle, body parts are little harder mate......maybe you'd better start wearing your Saftey Belt mate.
Hope you recover quickly from it!:)

[AADiscus]

Hopfully they had insurance! I'm glad you are alright though, it could have been alot worse. Really opens your eyes to thing when it actually happens to you vs seeing it on the news.

[korbi_doc]

Wow Mark, I'm so glad that you are certainly very lucky to be with us & ok....the truck can be replaced...I cringe when I say that, I'd cry if my truck was done in now; that happened to me yrs ago traveling to a horse show with a trailer full of horses & was broad sided when a woman who forgot her purse was frantically driving back to a diner.....& her insurance was nil & I lost lots of money when they totaled my truck & my horses missed their classes in a big show.....a mess, but we have to be thankful to be able to walk away & start over....everytime I drive by an accident on the highway, I pray for them & thank the Lord I'm not involved.......so, just pull yourself up, shake yourself off & get back on that horse & go on...hopefully a new truck will make you feel lots better...

Dottie

[Kindredspirit]

I am so glad you are okay, Mark!! I would hug you if I could:D:D

[phidelt85]

HOLY SH**!! Buddy, I too am thankful that's all that happened. It definitely could have been worse. I'd really hate to see the other truck, and "thankfully" they were in an SUV as well. Seatbelts are lifesavers but sometimes you may be better off without one. When I was in high school, I fell asleep at the wheel driving home from my girlfriend's house. I broke my hip and neck. The doctors said if my neck would have broken 1/2" higher it would have been paralyzed from the neck down. The only thing that saved my life was the fact that I didn't have my seatbelt on and actually slumped out of the way of the steering wheel when I hit the concrete culvert. However, I do wear my seatbelt now for the most part.

Glad you're OK, and now you can upgrade to a Chevy :D

[jeep]

Ouch! When the insurance company tried to settle with you, make sure they reimburse you for lost income for the snow storm :antlers:

Oh, and start wearing your seatbelt :bandana:

[GrillMaster]

Glad you are still here with us. I had a similar experience before, and the good thing was nobody got hurt seriously. But the stress, between the mind and getting the car fixed, I went through afterward sucks.

Thanks Kin! Glad to still be here! I am not lookin forward to the next couple of weeks by any means!:(

Hector, Thanks! I am not lookin forward to the insurance thing.

Al. thanks my friend! I liked the truck a lot. Sad seein it sittin there like that!

Geg, I am a believer in seat belts now for sure!

Thanks Scott, I have been in one other that was worse when I was 18. I was home on leave from the Navy an my dad talked me into bringin him to work an using his truck. I ran under nieth a semi trailer doing 55 mph. I was lucky to walk away from that one!!

Ardan, thanks bud! I think the airbag saved me from some serious injury as well!

Dan, Thanks for the kind words! I am glad everyone is ok too! :)

Eileen, Thanks for your kind words!

Adrian, Thanks...Your right they are no fun at all!

B. I hope they have insurance as well! I dont want to get a lawyer! I hate lawyers!

Michelle , Thanks! I will be wearing the seat belt from now on! You just never know I guess. Happens in a second!

Joe, I definately see seat belts in the future! :)

Angela, Thanks! It was definately an eye opener for me!

Dottie, Sorry to hear about your truck an horses!! Glad your horses an yourself made it through that ordeal!! I have already dusted myself off! Now the search for another truck can begin! :)

Thanks Marie!! I know you would! :) :)

Jose, Thanks for the kind words my friend... I dunno about a chevy but if the right deal comes along then chevy it is! :D

Hey Brian, You bet I will! The bad thing is that was a brand new plow! For the other peoples sake I am glad I didn't have it on the truck! They might not have walked away from that! I was on my way to pick it up! :(

I appreciate the concern and all the kind words from everyone! I am certainly glad to still be here! I would miss this place. Alot!! :) :)

tc
Mark

PS: Wear your seatbelts!! :D :D

[subcooler]

Mark,
Sorry to hear about your accident! Glad your alright!
I also was in an accident many years ago(hit in drivers side door by drunk driver in a raised 4x4 truck(38" tires).
I was not wearing my seatbelt either(no law @ the time 1988).No airbags either!The drivers side door was caved in 14" & I was shoved into pass. seat.
This started a long battle with back pain(sometimes awful/sometimes bearable).This has made me wonder where I'd be today if I was secured to the drivers seat by a belt?
NJ is talking about raising no seatbelt ticket fine to 500$.
I find it amazing that some states allow motorcyclist the freedom to decide if they want to wear a helmet, but in a car you must wear seatbelts (for your own protection):confused:
Sorry about the rambling-just wanted to say: Don't beat yourself up about not wearing a seatbelt-the bottom line is your alright & can continue to take care of those beautiful Alenquers from Al!
Take care!
Rob

[GrillMaster]

Thanks Rob!! Yeah I pretty much went for a tumble in the cab. Ct is one of those states that doesn't require helmets...:confused:

I never thought for the life of me doing 35 mph would cause so much damage! It was an eye opener for me.

The latest is... The accident report is still not ready for me to pick up. The police said 4-5 days and it has been 11 days. I have called pretty much everyday so I can get the copy. They keep telling me to call back tomarrow. :mad: The patrolman that is doing the report is a young guy. Maybe 28 years old. I actually had to call him last Thurs.to remind him he needed a statement from me. He works 3rd shift. He asks If he can come over now. Its about 11:30 PM. I tell him sure cause I really wanna get all this settled as quick as possibe. He shows up at midnight and starts to write up the statement then gets a call. He tells me he has to go on the call can he come back. I tell him NP. He shows back up a little after 1:00AM. He showed me everything in the statement. It all looked good but tells me there might be a hold up with the report. He explains that there is a criminal investigation going on with the accident. They have to get a warrant to get the medical records from the hospital in order to charge the other driver with DUI. The hospital took a blood test but cant release it to the police without a warrant. :confused: This might take a couple of weeks for the judge to issue it...:confused: :confused:

Oh BTW...I just got off the phone with the officer and he just told me the report is somewhere between his supervisors an records now.

The thing is...The longer it takes for the police report, the more money the ins. co. is going to be out of. I am renting a car, I am missing snow storms and various jobs that I could be doing. Without a truck, I cant make any money. The more money I cant make, the more the ins. is gonna have to pay!

This is why ins. coverage is so expensive!! :crazy:

tc
Mark

[BSW]

Well, Mark thank goodness they aren't raising Discus, by the time they got through the chain of command and the red tape to do a freakin' simple water change, the fish would all be dead !!!
How are you doing now, aside from not being able to work ?
Is your neck O.K. now ?
I hope it will all settle out soon -
(and you get a new truck at least !)
B

[fishmama]

Mark-

So sorry to hear about this. That's awful but, glad you are okay. Be sure to wear that seatbelt:smash: They really do save lives! I worked auto injury and property damage cases for an insurance company for 10 years prior to having children and saw some lives that might still be here if they had a belt on.

Hope you are not feeling too poorly today...take it easy for awhile!

Lisa

[GrillMaster]

Hey B and Lisa...I am ok now thanks! :)

tc
Mark

[Diamond Discus]

Hey B and Lisa...I am ok now thanks! :)

tc
Mark
Wow Mark, I've been gone on vacation for a couple of weeks and I just saw this....glad you are OK!

tc...really tc!
Sue

[AADiscus]

Mark, I work for a police department and I know how the reports work here in Oklahoma. We do not have to have a warrant for a blood test from the hospital because an officer should have gone with the other person to the hospital to watch the blood drawn. Then it is boxed up brought back to the police dept and then I send it off to the lab to process. The dui report should be a different report from the accident report but it (accident report) will mention the dui. Our reports normally take 2-3 business days to complete. SOme agency do take a little bit longer.

[GrillMaster]

Wow Mark, I've been gone on vacation for a couple of weeks and I just saw this....glad you are OK!

tc...really tc!
Sue

Well welcome back Sue!! Thanks for the kind words! I am ok now pretty much. I dont like drivin around in a hundai though...:(

Angela...My wife drove me to the hospital about an hour or so after the accident and the driver of the other vehicle was down the hall in the next room with an officer standing at the door. He was there for awhile and left about 20 mins before I did. The Doc that saw me knew why I was there and kinda let me know that they drew blood from her to see if she was DUI. Now whether the officer got the results I dont know. That is what the officer that was doing the report told me as far as this warrant thing. Sounded strange to me as well. Why would they need a warrant for something like this...:confused: Maybe an excuse to drag his feet.

I called again today an was told the same thing...The report is somewhere in the loop being reviewed by a supervisor call back tomarrow. :mad:

Thursday will be 2 weeks...:( Not much I can do I guess but keep waiting...

tc
Mark

[brewmaster15]

Mark,
Times like these it pays to have a Lawyer on your side...I know they take a chunk out themselves.... but having one involved may expedite things on several levels...:(

-al

[GrillMaster]

Al, One of my customers is just this type of attorney, well his partner is. They gave me a call but they cant do anything either till they see a copy of the police report. :crazy:

tc
Mark

[AADiscus]

Call back and ask to speak to that officers Sgt. If nothing then keep working your way up....Next would be a Corporal or a LT. Our Sgt's review every report before it is given to me then I review it. Then it is open records. They should have it done. Want me to call. lol

[GrillMaster]

I called records today and it still hasn't made it them. The woman said the report is on the Lt's desk. She told me to hold an went an got all the info (name, address, ins. policy no., vehichle make) of the other driver. She told me to call the Lt. since he wasn't in his office at the time.

I called the Lt just a little bit ago and explained to him who I was, an that I was involved in an accident a couple weeks ago. He tells me he is the patrol Lt. and wouldn't know anythig about it. I need to call records. I then immediately call records back where she puts me on hold. She comes back a couple mins later and tells me well he probably hasn't had time to go thru the paperwork since so much has happened today, call back tomarow or Friday. She told me I could call the officer that wrote the report and ask him about what is going on with the warrant...:rolleyes2:

I have gotten the run around before, but this one is a doozy!!

My attourney said to call the ins co. with the info that I did get an let them know. So the ins. co. has assigned an adjuster and I am now waiting to hear from her.

The ins. co does have an order for the report when its done, so I am all done asking for the report. I am just going to keep tabs on my losses!

tc
Mark

[AADiscus]

Mark, go ahead and get a copy of the report if it ever gets completed. lol Just file it away somewhere.

[Condor]

Mark, you may want to ask about any victims rights you may have. Here in Ohio, if you are a victim of drunk driving, you are eligible for certain types of compensation.

[GrillMaster]

Hey Angela... I am looking at it this way. The ins. co. now has the info from me about the other party so I will let them deal with it now. I will inquire about the report though! I just wont be as aggressive with it. :)

Condor...I have an attourney so I will just let them handle things from here. They will know better than me anyways. :)

I am not built to sue anyone! I have never done this sort of thng. Simple fact is I wouldn't want someone sueing me. The kicker for me was, when I arrived at the ER, the other party an the family were laughing, joking, an carrying on like they were at a party! Family members telling the accused to shut up cause they knew I was there. Still it was all a big party for em.

That was the straw for me...Since you guys find this whole thing so amusing, we will settle in court!! I will have the last laugh!