Well this Thursday (March 1, 2007) ended different

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

03/03/2007 11:19:17 PM · #1

Thursday night started like any other night at the Arnoldus familyâ��s home. Dinner wrestling with the boys, you know the normal stuff. After dinner my oldest son (Tyler) wanted to run down to the video game store to get him a new game for his Nintendo. The wife and I agreed so off we went.

He picked out his game and we were on our way home when our evening took a dramatic change. As we approached a major intersection on our way home I noticed three cars in the oncoming lanes of traffic waiting to turn left. Moving closer to the intersection, I had the green to proceed through the intersection, two of these cars made their left hand turn and thinking to myself, â��that second car is pushing it a little closeâ��, the third vehicle attempted to make his left hand turn. It proved to be a poor choice on his part; we collided with him at approximately 35 MPH. This is the result of this type of collision.

After the dust settled I think Iâ��ve been the most scared Iâ��ve ever been in my life. The first thought that went through my mind was â��IS TYLER OKAY?!?!â�� He was so scared that he was hyperventilating and trying to cry. I kept asking him if he was okay but he couldnâ��t respond, he was too scared and trying to process everything that had just happened. I finally told him that the police and fire department was on the way. This finally calmed him down enough to tell me that he was okay.

I canâ��t tell you what it feels like to go from 35 MPH to a dead stop but I can tell you that I hope none of you ever know what itâ��s like. Tyler and I are really sore but thankful to be alive; every fire fighter and police officer that was on the scene kept saying â��I canâ��t believe they are walking away from this accident.â�� The fire department must have triple checked Tyler at the scene. I was VERY impressed with their professionalism and caring nature of how they handled themselves.

The driver was a 17 year old that was behind the wheel of a 1994 Ford F350, not a small truck by any means. He also walked away with minor to no injuries. He was VERY remorseful over the entire situation; something that really surprised me to tell you the truth. His truck was in about the same shape as mine. I was driving a 2001 Toyota Tundra, Iâ��m so grateful that we were in that truck. It really held its own in that accident. If anyone is thinking about getting a new truck Iâ��d highly recommend the Tundra.

You all may or may not remember but almost a year ago I posted this thread about my wife getting into a fairly nasty accident in a Toyota 4Runner. It hasnâ��t been a good driving year for us, I hope that this is now all just a memory and we can move on. Iâ��d much rather buy lenses for my camera than replace vehicles!

Message edited by author 2007-03-03 23:21:45.

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

03/03/2007 11:23:39 PM · #2

Well the new Tundra is larger and very different we will see how it holds its ground. Most would say as good or better but you never know. I wouldn't hold the kids age against him, the majority of people cant drive no matter how old they get. Some get worse with age.

Glad your okay and it happens. Think 2 in a year is bad according to some study everyone will experience two house fires in their lifetime.... wow i cant say the past 3 generations of my family ever had one lol. Alot of people have that luck either "good" or bad"

We had a 2006 Expedition leave the body shop and come back 2 days later hit in the same spot both times not at fault.

Message edited by author 2007-03-03 23:25:25.

03/03/2007 11:27:18 PM · #3

Originally posted by RainMotorsports:

Oh, I don't hold his age against him, hell I was 17 once! ;^) I'm not even upset with him, it was an accident, and yes they do happen. It could have been anyone behind the wheel of his truck, I'm just glad that no one was seriously hurt.

jenesis

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

03/03/2007 11:53:20 PM · #4

Whew! My heart sank when I started reading this thread. I am soooo glad to hear that you two walked away from this. I dread the day I ever get into an auto accident with my kids in the car. I can't even imagine what you were going through at that exact second. I hope the insurance company takes good care of you guys.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

03/04/2007 12:22:50 AM · #5

Originally posted by jenesis:

Thanks Jen, yeah it was pretty freaky. I'll never forget the look that Ty had on his face after the impact. I'm so glad he is okay, I hope and pray you'll never have to have a day like Thursday.

PhotoDave

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

03/04/2007 01:03:44 AM · #6

Sorry to hear about your accident, just glad that you and your son are ok and of course the other driver as it was just an accident... Im my early years of driving I wrote off a few vehicles from people running in to me, one of which was drunk but thats a whole different story.

-dave

*edit for SP :/

Message edited by author 2007-03-04 01:04:11.