Mike Brunton
Enthusiast
I've tried to think of 20 different ways to post this, but I just want to get it off my chest since I am so down right now.
This afternoon, me and my Viper were involved in a very serious accident on Route 1 north of Boston. Here is what happened... an accident had occured on the southbound side and the car involved had flipped over onto the northbound side. I arrived just as the police got there, and they were motioning cars into the middle lane from the fast lane. This guy in a pickup wouldn't let me in, so I had to squeeze in front of him or get real close to the cop (which I wasn't going to do), so I squeeze in front of him.
The guy starts tailgating me. When traffic opens up, me flies by me in the left lane, as did another car. I got behind the 2nd car. We were coming up on traffic slowing in the left lane and so I switched back to the middle lane. As I was passing the guy, he swerved VERY hard into my lane. I slammed on the brakes, but he clipped the front end of my car, sending me into a slide. I tried to recover, but the butt of the car had come around too much. I found myself facing the concrete median going about 60mph or so. The car hit the median HARD, and jumped up onto it. It slid down the median and I hit the concrete support base of a bridge. Then it impacted a light pole that was bolted down to the center divider (those big metal ones on the highway that are about 100' tall). The car sheared right through the light pole which toppled over like a tree landing on the southbound side of the highway (luckily nobody got hit or hit it). When I hit the pole, the airbags both deployed and I slammed into the dash (5 points saved my life here). I continued to slide down the barrier, with the car rotating, piroueting and bouncing. It continued on the barrier and hit a second light pole. This time the car caught the pole and was slingshoted across the highway, where I impacted the guardrail on the right side of the road. The car slid down the guardrail for a little while and came to a stop squished against the guardrail.
When I came to a stop, I couldn't see anything. The smoke from the airbags was filling the car, and there was coolant and oil everywhere. The engine was at redline. I shut the motor off, undid my 5-points and jumped out of the car, since I knew cars were coming and might not be able to stop.
As soon as I got out, I saw people running from the other side of the road. One woman was screaming hysterically "he's dead, he's dead". I asked who she was talking about, and she said "the driver". I said I was the driver, and her jaw dropped. I looked at the car and I can see why. The car is absolutely demolished. When I hit the first pole, it crushed the front of the car all the way back to the engine. The front clip, radiator and front frame section are just gone. The throttle bodies were bent and the cable was crushed (hence the engine sitting at redline). The hood is pretty much crushed too. The whole underside of the car was ripped up - I think the oil pan was ripped off and the transmission plate was ripped off too. The whole exhaust system is also crushed front to back. Both sidesills are demolished. Basically the only part of the car that isn't destroyed is the doors, rear 1/4 panels and the rear hatch. Everything else is just gone. There were 2 fire engines, 3 ambulances and about 8 cops on the scene. Every single one of them told me they were astonished that I was alive, and they were baffled that I was able to walk away from the accident. First thing the firefighters did was grab the jaws of life - they assumed I had to have been trapped or dead. The whole left side of the car was resting on the ground. But the wheels didn't appear to be damaged. I don't know if the frame broke, or what happened, but the tires were inflated, and the wheels weren't bent (on that side), but the car was sitting on the ground. It looked like someone picked it up and bent the whole car in the middle into a banana shape. This probably was when I hit the pole or the bridge support.
When the accident happened, the guy in the truck hit the gas and took off. Luckily there were several witnesses that saw what happened and stopped to tell the cops the story. The cops were total a-holes and seemed genuinely disappointed that they couldn't write me a ticket for something or other. I asked them to go after the other guy and they said he was "probably long gone" and since I had no plate, they had no way to get him. They said all I could do was file a report, but that it would never get solved unless the guy turned himself in. It upset me that if I were the son of the governor or someone "important", they would be all over trying to get the guy, but since I am just a regular joe, I don't count. Maybe I'm just bitter.
The car is obviously a total loss. I will post pictures from when I go to the tow yard on Monday. It is a mess however. I'm not even sure what the salvage value would be. You know those pictures that we've seen on this site of destroyed Vipers? It looks like one of those. The crashes probably belongs on "worlds scaries police videos" or something. The whole ordeal seemed to last forever - I must have been sliding/hitting stuff for a good 5-10 seconds (again, this saved my life by scrubbing off energy over time, rather than a single huge impact).
The good news is that I came out of this pretty much unscathed. I got a good gash on my head - not sure if it's from the wheel or from hitting the roof, but my face was covered in blood after I got out of the car. I sprained my left arm, and got a little graze on my right knee. I went to the hospital and I was Ok. A little whiplash from hitting the pole. I got some staples in my head but the cut wasn't bad - just bled a lot.
I want to thank the Dodge engineers for their work. This car saved my life. Everyone there who knows about these accidents like the firefighters, EMT's and cops all said I had no business being alive. I guess the fact that the car absorbed so much of the impact is why I am alive. I remember hitting the center median and thinking "as long as I just slide and nobody hits me from behind, I'll be ok". Then the car jumped up on the median and I saw the pole, and I remember thinking "Ok, I'm going to die... hope nobody finds my nudie mags I've got stashed" (or something to that effect). After the pole, I was certain that I was really badly hurt because it was a very violent crash. But I guess my natural padding (read: fat) paid off and I made it.
Dodge, I knew the car was awesome when it was good... but it was also awesome when it gave it's life for mine.
I am really bummed about the car. I owe a little money on it, and at this time of the year and given that I bought a few cars and bikes this year, I'm not able to just buy a new Viper. I would definitely want ABS this time. I might try to get a 2001 yellow/black this coming spring - we'll see. Bill Pemberton - we need to talk soon perhaps.
Right after the accident, I thought I was done with Vipers, but it's only been hours since the accident and I am already realizing I am bitten and I want another one. I guess I coudl live with a creampuff
.
Be careful out there folks. Buckle up and always watch the other guy. And never doubt the crash-worthiness of a Viper. I am living proof of their safety.
Pics to come soon....
<FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Mike Brunton on 09-17-2001 at 12:53 PM</font>
This afternoon, me and my Viper were involved in a very serious accident on Route 1 north of Boston. Here is what happened... an accident had occured on the southbound side and the car involved had flipped over onto the northbound side. I arrived just as the police got there, and they were motioning cars into the middle lane from the fast lane. This guy in a pickup wouldn't let me in, so I had to squeeze in front of him or get real close to the cop (which I wasn't going to do), so I squeeze in front of him.
The guy starts tailgating me. When traffic opens up, me flies by me in the left lane, as did another car. I got behind the 2nd car. We were coming up on traffic slowing in the left lane and so I switched back to the middle lane. As I was passing the guy, he swerved VERY hard into my lane. I slammed on the brakes, but he clipped the front end of my car, sending me into a slide. I tried to recover, but the butt of the car had come around too much. I found myself facing the concrete median going about 60mph or so. The car hit the median HARD, and jumped up onto it. It slid down the median and I hit the concrete support base of a bridge. Then it impacted a light pole that was bolted down to the center divider (those big metal ones on the highway that are about 100' tall). The car sheared right through the light pole which toppled over like a tree landing on the southbound side of the highway (luckily nobody got hit or hit it). When I hit the pole, the airbags both deployed and I slammed into the dash (5 points saved my life here). I continued to slide down the barrier, with the car rotating, piroueting and bouncing. It continued on the barrier and hit a second light pole. This time the car caught the pole and was slingshoted across the highway, where I impacted the guardrail on the right side of the road. The car slid down the guardrail for a little while and came to a stop squished against the guardrail.
When I came to a stop, I couldn't see anything. The smoke from the airbags was filling the car, and there was coolant and oil everywhere. The engine was at redline. I shut the motor off, undid my 5-points and jumped out of the car, since I knew cars were coming and might not be able to stop.
As soon as I got out, I saw people running from the other side of the road. One woman was screaming hysterically "he's dead, he's dead". I asked who she was talking about, and she said "the driver". I said I was the driver, and her jaw dropped. I looked at the car and I can see why. The car is absolutely demolished. When I hit the first pole, it crushed the front of the car all the way back to the engine. The front clip, radiator and front frame section are just gone. The throttle bodies were bent and the cable was crushed (hence the engine sitting at redline). The hood is pretty much crushed too. The whole underside of the car was ripped up - I think the oil pan was ripped off and the transmission plate was ripped off too. The whole exhaust system is also crushed front to back. Both sidesills are demolished. Basically the only part of the car that isn't destroyed is the doors, rear 1/4 panels and the rear hatch. Everything else is just gone. There were 2 fire engines, 3 ambulances and about 8 cops on the scene. Every single one of them told me they were astonished that I was alive, and they were baffled that I was able to walk away from the accident. First thing the firefighters did was grab the jaws of life - they assumed I had to have been trapped or dead. The whole left side of the car was resting on the ground. But the wheels didn't appear to be damaged. I don't know if the frame broke, or what happened, but the tires were inflated, and the wheels weren't bent (on that side), but the car was sitting on the ground. It looked like someone picked it up and bent the whole car in the middle into a banana shape. This probably was when I hit the pole or the bridge support.
When the accident happened, the guy in the truck hit the gas and took off. Luckily there were several witnesses that saw what happened and stopped to tell the cops the story. The cops were total a-holes and seemed genuinely disappointed that they couldn't write me a ticket for something or other. I asked them to go after the other guy and they said he was "probably long gone" and since I had no plate, they had no way to get him. They said all I could do was file a report, but that it would never get solved unless the guy turned himself in. It upset me that if I were the son of the governor or someone "important", they would be all over trying to get the guy, but since I am just a regular joe, I don't count. Maybe I'm just bitter.
The car is obviously a total loss. I will post pictures from when I go to the tow yard on Monday. It is a mess however. I'm not even sure what the salvage value would be. You know those pictures that we've seen on this site of destroyed Vipers? It looks like one of those. The crashes probably belongs on "worlds scaries police videos" or something. The whole ordeal seemed to last forever - I must have been sliding/hitting stuff for a good 5-10 seconds (again, this saved my life by scrubbing off energy over time, rather than a single huge impact).
The good news is that I came out of this pretty much unscathed. I got a good gash on my head - not sure if it's from the wheel or from hitting the roof, but my face was covered in blood after I got out of the car. I sprained my left arm, and got a little graze on my right knee. I went to the hospital and I was Ok. A little whiplash from hitting the pole. I got some staples in my head but the cut wasn't bad - just bled a lot.
I want to thank the Dodge engineers for their work. This car saved my life. Everyone there who knows about these accidents like the firefighters, EMT's and cops all said I had no business being alive. I guess the fact that the car absorbed so much of the impact is why I am alive. I remember hitting the center median and thinking "as long as I just slide and nobody hits me from behind, I'll be ok". Then the car jumped up on the median and I saw the pole, and I remember thinking "Ok, I'm going to die... hope nobody finds my nudie mags I've got stashed" (or something to that effect). After the pole, I was certain that I was really badly hurt because it was a very violent crash. But I guess my natural padding (read: fat) paid off and I made it.
Dodge, I knew the car was awesome when it was good... but it was also awesome when it gave it's life for mine.
I am really bummed about the car. I owe a little money on it, and at this time of the year and given that I bought a few cars and bikes this year, I'm not able to just buy a new Viper. I would definitely want ABS this time. I might try to get a 2001 yellow/black this coming spring - we'll see. Bill Pemberton - we need to talk soon perhaps.
Right after the accident, I thought I was done with Vipers, but it's only been hours since the accident and I am already realizing I am bitten and I want another one. I guess I coudl live with a creampuff
Be careful out there folks. Buckle up and always watch the other guy. And never doubt the crash-worthiness of a Viper. I am living proof of their safety.
Pics to come soon....
<FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Mike Brunton on 09-17-2001 at 12:53 PM</font>
