BillyVance 34 #1 October 18, 2005 All I can say is HOLY SHIT!!! No, it wasn't me, thank God... ============================ This happened to me while driving home from KSC heading south on SR 3 in north Merritt Island. I was in my usual “zone”, keeping the proper distance, watching everything around me, but deep in the thought of the moment. Suddenly there was a loud “kaboom” that sounded like it came from my car. I hadn’t seen or heard anything that would warn me something was about to happen. No brake lights, swerving cars, or anything. I was pretty sure the sound came from my car and started to check it out. Moved the steering wheel back and forth a little - tires are ok. Pushed on the brake - brakes are ok. Pushed on the gas - engine running ok. No more noises of any kind. Then it caught my eye. I stared in disbelief at a huge steel pry bar sticking out of the hood pointed towards my face. I looked at the car in front of me, looked back at the pry bar, and looked for a place to pull over. No telling how long the pry bar had lain in the road but the car in front of me ran over it in just the right way to send it into the air. When I shut off my car the pry bar was trying to weld itself to the hood, which was glowing cherry red where the bar touched it. The pry bar had gone right through the battery. I feel very fortunate to be alive and uninjured and that no one else was hurt. There may be several different safety messages involved with this incident. I believe the most significant safety message would be: Secure the load that you are transporting, even if you are “just going a short distance”, so that nothing you are transporting can end up on the road and possibly harm other people or cause damage to other vehicles."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rebecca 0 #2 October 18, 2005 whoa. you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #3 October 19, 2005 QuoteAll I can say is HOLY SHIT!!! No, it wasn't me, thank God... ============================ Suddenly there was a loud “kaboom” that sounded like it came from my car. . you wouldn't have said that QuoteI hadn’t seen or heard anything that would warn me something was about to happen. But this one would have been possible... Scary story anyway if it's true...scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969912 0 #4 October 19, 2005 Some wanker chucked it off an overpass or out of a car. "Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ." -NickDG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dumpster 0 #5 October 19, 2005 QuoteSecure the load that you are transporting, even if you are “just going a short distance”, so that nothing you are transporting can end up on the road and possibly harm other people or cause damage to other vehicles While I was living in Austin, a friend of mine ran over a cement block that fell off a truck he was driving behind on I-35. Destroyed the engine, as the cement block ripped a bunch stuff to shreds under the car including tearing the oil pan wide open. By the time he got to the side of the road (less than a minute-) the engine was toast. He wasn't able to get the plate number off the truck, as he was more concerned with getting the car off the road without causing a major accident. The insurance company totaled the car, the damage to the undercarriage was that severe. Easy Does It Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveStMarys 0 #6 October 19, 2005 Here where I live, you hear about this stuff ALL the time. A lady was killed last year swerving to miss a six foot ladder that had come off a work truck, she ended up going over a guard rail on a bridge and drowned. There are always paint buckets, brooms, etc in the roads. My husband is in that trade and he is extremely careful how he ties things down. So much so he bought a step van to make sure that all is secure. I never follow a pick-up truck that has its tail gate down and it hauling something. Its just not safe and I have "that" kind of luck. BobbiA miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #7 October 19, 2005 As the victim another thing you can do is always make sure you replace damaged or cracked windscreens straight away. A windscreen with compromised integrity can withstand a surprisingly serious impact, protecting the occupants of the vehicle. Of course, things like those discussed in this thread would probably defeat even a windscreen in perfect condition - but there's no harm in having as much protection as is practicable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simplyputsi 0 #8 October 19, 2005 CRAZY!!!! A fellow skydiver friend of mine had sort of the same thing happen except the bar came through the windshield and missed going through his neck by about ummm 1/2 inch. He has pictures, I will ask him if I can post them, they are pretty insane. Road debris sucks ass!!!!Skymama's #2 stalker - Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #9 October 19, 2005 Scary! Glad to hear that you survived. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
j0nes 0 #10 October 19, 2005 Quote A windscreen with uncompromised integrity can withstand a surprisingly serious impact Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #11 October 19, 2005 QuoteAll I can say is HOLY SHIT!!! No, it wasn't me, thank God..Deja Vu. When I was going for my first tandem in 1997 (yes, FIRST tandem), I rented a car to go to the dropzone. Guess what? Car ahead of me ran over a piece of metal, which flew and then promptly shattered my rental car's windshield - impact point RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE. Fortunately, the shattered windshield held in place. I was really freaked and swerved 4 lanes to the shoulder (I was in the fast lane of a 8-lane freeway) to an immediate stop. Something must have been trying to prevent me going skydiving that day. Needless to say, that tandem became an expensive trip since I had to pay a $500 deductible. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broke 0 #12 October 19, 2005 There are a lot of stories of stuff like that on my Island. One time some guy on the expressway got a pipe through the forehead... ouchDivot your source for all things Hillbilly. Anvil Brother 84 SCR 14192 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GravityGirl 0 #13 October 20, 2005 That happened here in Byron and it impaled a female driver with her Mom in the right seat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ladyhawke 0 #14 October 20, 2005 Whoa, your guardian angle was looking after you! Glad no one was hurt. Hope your car can be fixed."It is our choices that show what we truly are far more than our abilities." - A. Dumbledore Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #15 October 20, 2005 Everyone, read my original post, it wasn't me. I pasted it from an email."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
