Boy....Thursday Really Sucked!
Posted: 06 Apr 2007, 07:03
Starting off.......I get to work....and my office PC has had a meltdown...Grrrrr.....Spend 2 hours getting the "just in case" backup PC running and functional.....and then I get a call from the Kansas Highway Patrol.....
My dad was on the way to Denver on I70.....we had this little storm blow thru yesterday that was supposed to be a dusting.....well try 8 inches in some places.....anyway.....My dad had an accident and was being treated in Ellsworth (just off I70 between Salina and Russel) he was shaken, but not stirred (so to speak)....and that I needed to come get him. So I had a 2 hour drive in a Ice storm....had to stop 4 times to knock the ice off the wipers because they got completly frozen....anyway here is what happened.......
Dad was following a 18-wheeler, back far enough to not eat all the spray....in the right lane, doing 45-50 mph. Right lane is wet but clear because everyone is using that lane, its snowing to beat the band and visability is about 1/4 mile....Dad said he was going to get off at Russel and re-evaluate proceeding-staying in Russel-or heading back....
Left lane is a slushy mess about 3 inches deep, the snow is VERY wet as the temp is 32-34 degrees.....its a slushy mess. So dad is following this Truck, and now another 18 wheeler is coming down a on-ramp and wont yeald.....he forces dad into the slush covered left lane....so dad trys to get back in the right lane (he has cleared...or thinks he has....the dumbass that came down the on-ramp)......but now this ahole has accellerated to close the gap between the leading truck basically tailgating the leading truck. The bow wake (the wind suck) plus the slush begins to have dad heading for the median, but he saves it with 2 wheels on the left shoulder.....but then the car snap hooks right and he goes between the 2 trucks. He hits the leading truck (back of the trailer) with the left front of his accrua....bounces off, hitting the guardrail on the right shoulder with the right front....bounces off that and gets hammered in the rear by the Ahole 2nd 18wheeler...this is when the airbag went off....and then gets sideswiped on his left side by the 2nd truck and the trailer.......He got it whoa'd up....the Accura is totaled, but pretty amazingly the "cabin" frame was un-distorted....the front and rear crumpled and absorbed the "E" and did their jobs, so dad walked away with some burns fro nthe air bag, and some minor knocks (like his head hitting the side window)....he's sore but otherwise in good shape.
Guess who got the ticket? My dad, for driving too fast for conditions because he crashed (so to speak) in the passing lane. The Ahole who started the who damn thing basically lied saying dad was already in the left lane....blah.....blah.....
I told dad to fight it and make that dickhead come all the way to court in Kansas (he drives out of Florida).....just to make him have to appear.
Anyway, I went out, picked him up, cleaned out all of his stuff from the car, and drove him home and beat the closing of the highway by about 45 mins because all that water begane to freeze and turned I135 north of wichita into an ice rink.
Thank god it's friday
My dad was on the way to Denver on I70.....we had this little storm blow thru yesterday that was supposed to be a dusting.....well try 8 inches in some places.....anyway.....My dad had an accident and was being treated in Ellsworth (just off I70 between Salina and Russel) he was shaken, but not stirred (so to speak)....and that I needed to come get him. So I had a 2 hour drive in a Ice storm....had to stop 4 times to knock the ice off the wipers because they got completly frozen....anyway here is what happened.......
Dad was following a 18-wheeler, back far enough to not eat all the spray....in the right lane, doing 45-50 mph. Right lane is wet but clear because everyone is using that lane, its snowing to beat the band and visability is about 1/4 mile....Dad said he was going to get off at Russel and re-evaluate proceeding-staying in Russel-or heading back....
Left lane is a slushy mess about 3 inches deep, the snow is VERY wet as the temp is 32-34 degrees.....its a slushy mess. So dad is following this Truck, and now another 18 wheeler is coming down a on-ramp and wont yeald.....he forces dad into the slush covered left lane....so dad trys to get back in the right lane (he has cleared...or thinks he has....the dumbass that came down the on-ramp)......but now this ahole has accellerated to close the gap between the leading truck basically tailgating the leading truck. The bow wake (the wind suck) plus the slush begins to have dad heading for the median, but he saves it with 2 wheels on the left shoulder.....but then the car snap hooks right and he goes between the 2 trucks. He hits the leading truck (back of the trailer) with the left front of his accrua....bounces off, hitting the guardrail on the right shoulder with the right front....bounces off that and gets hammered in the rear by the Ahole 2nd 18wheeler...this is when the airbag went off....and then gets sideswiped on his left side by the 2nd truck and the trailer.......He got it whoa'd up....the Accura is totaled, but pretty amazingly the "cabin" frame was un-distorted....the front and rear crumpled and absorbed the "E" and did their jobs, so dad walked away with some burns fro nthe air bag, and some minor knocks (like his head hitting the side window)....he's sore but otherwise in good shape.
Guess who got the ticket? My dad, for driving too fast for conditions because he crashed (so to speak) in the passing lane. The Ahole who started the who damn thing basically lied saying dad was already in the left lane....blah.....blah.....
I told dad to fight it and make that dickhead come all the way to court in Kansas (he drives out of Florida).....just to make him have to appear.
Anyway, I went out, picked him up, cleaned out all of his stuff from the car, and drove him home and beat the closing of the highway by about 45 mins because all that water begane to freeze and turned I135 north of wichita into an ice rink.
Thank god it's friday