SherpaPilot

Yesterday I finished up some minor work on my 65 coupe and parked it on the driveway while I cleaned up the garage. Having some small errands to run, I planned on taking the short excursion in the Sting Ray but decided to drive my Chevy Tahoe instead. This decision saved my life. While stopped at a red light, I was struck in the rear by a truck traveling about 60 mph. The impact drove my Tahoe through the intersection and beyond. I recall my head slamming like a basketball into the Tahoe's high back seat and headrest. Although I was wearing the seatbelt/harness, my body flew forward which inverted the steering wheel. The airbags never deployed. The frame of the Tahoe looked like an inverted "V". All doors were jammed shut and the power windows were frozen in place. I moved into the passenger's seat and kicked the door open. Looking back into the cockpit, I saw the driver's seat back completely broken and was reclined to the rear. That seat and headrest saved my life, Had I been sitting in my C2 coupe with the original low back seats and no shoulder harness, my neck would have broken and I would either be dead or looking for a wheelchair. If you have ever considered upgrading your seats to later model Corvette seats or after-market race seats, I urge you to followup on your thoughts. Not everyone out there drives as carefully as we do with our classics. Your accident may not be your fault. Be careful out there. Sorry about the sprlling; its hard to type with broken fingers.

INMYBLOOD

So glad to hear you are ok, scary out on the roads. I imagine a rear end accident that bad with my head rolling down the back of the car. You must have a guardian angel!

63 corvette

Glad you survived and good you were in the Tahoe. Your C2 would have been gone and as you said you too! You are going to hurt for quite awhile and I hope you are back to normal soon. Bob

DZAUTO

DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad the outcome for you was good (if you can call that good).

Soooooooooooooooo, what was the deal with the truck driver from behind-----------------texting his girlfriend????????????

Tom Parsons

RoadKing96

I think the younger folks call it PHONE TEX

In all seriousness, soooo glad you were in the vehicle you were in, for multiple reasons. More importantly, real glad you are OK.


RK

Frankie the Fink

You are darn lucky...doubly so since you didn't get T-boned by somebody as you were propelled through the intersection. Wife and I were thinking of 'downsizing' our primary car but you almost have to have a beefy SUV today in self defense...

Tampa Jerry

Glad you had the Tahoe and are OK. If the guy was texting, I would think that the phone must have been embedded in his head with the airbag and crash at 60mph. Jerry

65hihp

exact same story in our local paper this morning, Northridge CA, two days ago. 0730 hours, 61 year old lady in Infiniti SUV minding her own business waiting for through traffic so she could make left turn. Suddenly knocked across the intersection by 31 year old female driver in Mercedes that must have been doing 50 coming up from behind her, and probably texting (?).
Infiniti was smashed and burned up, as was the poor utterly innocent driver.
With everyone in a god awful hurry these days, and everyone talking on the phone if not texting while driving, it is a very dangerous scene on our roads these days. Practice defensive driving to the max.

OldKarz

Glad to hear that your OK. Lots of dumb azzes on the road doing everything but driving!

kenmo

I'm glad you survived... too many idiots on the roads today paying more attention to the cell phone, mp3 players or gps then actually driving...

JoeCool66

Scary story…. Fatefull decision to take the Tahoe. We never think about how our lives can change in a second…until we have a close call or see something happen to someone else. I hope they lock up the moron that hit you.

Joe

mike gleason

My god!! Thank God you can still type and still walk!

I don't hand out too many good driving awards anymore but when reading something like this it makes me want to fill the city coffers with these idiot's money for their **** poor driving.

Thank God your okay and hopefully the investigating officer cited this person appropriately.

wmf62

i hope Kensmith reads this...
Bill

92GTA

WOW! Super glad to hear you are ok! I can't believe the airbag never deployed!

sub006

I've been rear-ended twice in my C2. Once at about 10 mph, rolled the car forward and bent the rear bumpers up a bit. I was under 30 and had no ill effects.

Almost a decade later I was last in line, waiting for a red light at the bottom of the hill. In ny rearview miror I saw a Chevelle burst over the hilltop, heading straight for me. No way to properly warn the cars in front of me so I stood on the brakes and braced myself for at least a 30 mph impact..

WHAM! Felt just like a bumper-car ride, only BIG. The Chevelle pushed my car on locked wheels and tires into the car in front. Considerable damage to front and rear 'glass, but drivable. I felt okay, as in the previous accident. Woman driving the Chevelle was an IBM rep on company business, so unlimited insurance coverage.

Seven days later I woke up with the mother of all whiplash. Took months of therapy to get my neck and attached parts halfway back, the older you are the less it takes to hurt you. Thirty years later I'm at 90%.

Lessons learned, try to relax your body when you see a crash coming (that's why drunks survive so many bad ones), let your car be free to roll and absorb force that way, and get to a chiropractor for X-rays and preventive therapy ASAP.

LSUvetteguy

I've installed 66 headrests in my 65 and I'm adding shoulder belts as well.

vetrod62

Glad to hear you are OK. I had an amazingly similar crash in Oct. 1999. I was driving on Rt 80 in NJ and traffic suddenly stopped because a truck pulled out from behind the barriers at a construction zone. I was in a 2 month old 1999 Tahoe . The traffic at the time was moving at 70-75 mph. It was on a curve with out any warning signs. Every one had to stop short. I did , but the 5 ton Dover Elevator truck be hind me did not. When I saw him, he was 150-200 feet behind, it took less than 1/2 second for him to hit. The impact knocked me out and when I came to I was in the back seat. All 6 doors on the truck would not shut, the 2 trucks frames hit perfectly together shooting my truck like a pool ball forward.

The insurance company had the truck repaired, I guess righting off $50 G was not profitable. It took 5 months and none of the door gaps looked right.

I ended up with neck and back injuries that took a year to to become tolerable and short term memory loss that was really bad for 3 years. It took 8 years for me to be able to pull out of my driveway and be able to look left, right, left, right, left and pull out without passing out.

And they say my racing is dangerous.

Back to the 1999 Tahoe and rear end collisions, If my granddaughter was in an car seat behind the drivers seat, she would have been killed. Think of that when putting kids seats in your cars behind the front seats.

Which generation Tahoe did you have??

Curvette1

I am so glad you are OK,...that must have been so frightening !! Do you replay it when going to sleep?? I hope not.
Glad you were in your Tahoe..I love mine, and THAT is the reason. I feel safe...safer.

Again glad you are OK.

SherpaPilot

Thanks for all the messages of support. My Tahoe is totaled but I was able to walk away. As far as my C2 is concerned, I plan on researching race quality buckets to replace the originals on a temporary basis. When I sell the car, I can offer up the originals to the new owner. This experience could happen to any one of us without any warning at any momment. You never know when you crawl into your car if it will be the last time.

Easy Rider 1

I would be upset if I had a Tahoe. The bags didnt deploy at 60mph?
Curvette, take yours to the dealer and have them checked if you want to feel safer. We all rely on them and assume they will work, so a safety check once in a while wouldnt hurt.
Mike