My Truck Rear Ended - Pics

[67chevytrk]

Originally Posted by FirstGen

Well tuesday around 3:30pm in the afternoon driving down a four lane asphalt road some one up ahead slams on their brakes to turn left on to a residential street with no turn lane and everyone behind this person slams on their brakes hard to not hit the vehicle in front of them. Un-luckily for me, the lady behind me in a 2001 Dodge Durango doesn't hit the brakes in time to slow down and rear ends me going 30+mph.

Damage includes completely destroying the bed, tailgate, roll pan, bedsides, smashed the back of the cab in 2+ inches, shocking both door and scraping paint off around door jabs, cracked my rear mounted A1000 Aeromotive fuel pump and cracked the optima battery. The motor even was moved back about 3/4 of an inch and the transmission crossmember is bowed now. Neither doors close as nicely. All the gaps on the hood and fenders are out of wack. Hell even the front bumper was shocked by the collision enough to come back and scratch the paint at the grill area. I did not hit the lady in front of me thankfully although after being pushed 4+ feet I only had about 2 feet from hitting her.

I feel like someone beat me up and just plain sick to my stomach...

Man that makes my stomach turn, I can't imagine what state of mind I would be in if that happened to me....it was a good thing you weren't on your bike even though you probably could have manuvered around it easier but if not, wow.....

I am sorry to hear it, keep us posted.

[krue]

Sorry about the truck. I hope you get satisfaction from the insurance company.

[Canadian694x4]

I don't mean to be repetitive but I can't say more than what's been said already...truly sorry to see this. Glad your ok and hope things work out.

[82c10]

that sucks, have you thought about buildin one with an 8.1 L in it yet

[68haywagon]

That was such a bad a$$ truck. I'm glad to hear your mostly OK, but your gonna feel it tomorrow. I hope everything works out for you. Keep us posted on what you are going to do.

Mike

PS: If you need to find a home for that drivetrain, don't hesitate to call me

[SCOTI]

Sorry to hear the news FirstGen. Let me know if you need any help w/anything.

[wibilly]

if she could't stop soon enough she was simply too close

[CPNEJR]

damn that sucks! not to be a broken record but the most important thing is that you're ok

[ratrod67]

[chevy_fatman]

Man! that sucks big time! if that was my truck I'd be crying! she was probably following too close, How come that an older truck can stop in time and not hit the car in front, yet a newer track behind you couldn't? she must've been distracted or something, to have hit you that hard.

I hope the insurance co. treats you good and you get to rebuild a badder truck.

[68C15]

uhm, this is in no way meant to be offensive. just an honest concern I have for my project.

let us know if they give you a hassle about the tail light being hard to see. I am not sure if this is an issue. I am thinking of using the same tail lights. do you see where i'm coming from on this?

[FirstGen]

That's the plan. I think she is just like any normal mother with three children in the car - distracted. I don't plan on sueing her personally and I think even the state minimum will cover my medical problems and replacement value of my truck. Hopefully. I just know trying to get them to write a check to me for 26 grand or something in that ballpark won't be easy...
-taylor

Originally Posted by MrC1

Man, that sucks. Sorry for all the loss, but glad it was only mechanical, not physical.

I can't agree with the couple of posts saying you should sue the s*** outta her though. Unless she truly did something negligent to cause all that damage there's no reason to go wild with the lawsuits. Sorry, that's just a really crappy attitude and it's one of the big problems in our society today.

That said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with getting fully reimbursed for your loss. In the regard, make sure you get all that's coming to you. If the lady simply couldn't stop fast enough, I'd leave her alone beyond that.

Good luck!!

[FirstGen]

Originally Posted by project76

Man i almost cried and it's not even my truck. Your truck has been one of the baddest trucks i've seen. Will you build another?

Thanks, I will definitely build another. I'm not sure it will be my next project though. I just have a bad taste in my mouth and re-doing everything would be all too redundant. I have my eyes on a really clean 79 911/930 turbo porsche slant nose that will make a great donor vehicle for my motor.

[Deuce]

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
That was one of the sweetest truck I've seen. Sorry to hear Bro.

[FirstGen]

Originally Posted by 68C15

uhm, this is in no way meant to be offensive. just an honest concern I have for my project.

let us know if they give you a hassle about the tail light being hard to see. I am not sure if this is an issue. I am thinking of using the same tail lights. do you see where i'm coming from on this?

Yes I do however they are origional equipment DOT certified tail lights and it was in the plain daylight. If they were LED strips or something it might be a concern to a crappy insurance company trying to get out of it? So far there wasn't even a glimpse of anything related to being my fault. They way I look at it is, hell if they will pass you on your state inspection with it, there is no way for the insurace company to talk about it.

[BillGent]

So sorry man.. been there. I hope you get what you need man.

[shifty]

Originally Posted by Jim_PA

Yeah, that's what I'd do too... Sue the sh*t out of someone weather the compensation for damage caused is reasonable or not. Must have a lawyer in the family.....

Man, you're really quick to jump into someone else's thread and insult someone with an off-topic post, aren't you? Troll much?

Maybe you don't know how this whole thing normally works - the insurance company has lawyers and they have the insurance adjusters that they pay nicely to underprice and underquote everything and total a truck like that at the drop of a hat so they can pay out 1/4 of the amount it's really worth. If he sues that woman, she doesn't pay a dime, the insurance company does. That's why people like you and I pay for insurance in the first place...in case we screw up and hit someone. Your best bet in any wreck where more than a thousand or two in damage is done is to get a lawyer. If they have them, why should you be the only one who doesn't? I know, a lot of people hate/don't trust lawyers...and it's understandable. Most of the people that run our country were lawyers and the lawyers and politicians alike are shady!


I don't have any lawyers in my family, but I've been in a lot of wrecks and I know how the system works, I've been dragged through it more than I care to recount (ok ,so it was 6 wrecks from age 15 to 22, only 2 are my fault, the rest are negligent drivers). I'm thinking about it from an emotional perspective. I see what the guy put into his truck and I know if that was my truck, it would have been as dear to me as one of my children. Having it killed (literally) at the hands of a negligent driver would leave me on the ground in tears and I don't cry. That truck is irreplaceable. It would be like losing a family heirloom to me personally, some keepsake that you just can't replace. No matter what he does, he will never have that truck back. Maybe you missed the recent videos he posted showing him racing a Z06 'vette. Those are some of his last memories having a blast in the truck. He will never experience that again. All because some lady was following too closely or her reaction time was delayed because of distractions (kids? cell phone? just wasn't watching the road? who knows?)

Bottom line....You, JYJ or anyone else can sit here and talk about the decline of our country and how "sue-happy people" are causing degredation of our life and well-being, but the sad truth is, the people who lead you to believe that crap are usually the ones who are at risk to take a loss from people getting a lawyer in the first place. It sucks that you hafta get a lawyer to keep from getting railroaded completely, but you can blame the businesses and insurance companies for keeping it that way. People like you and I need lawyers to even get a fair settlement out of it.

72 hours ago, this guy had an incredible prize-worthy truck...now he has a twisted hunk of metal and memories of "what might have been" and "what will never be". That is worth someting in my book, but it's not tangible to an insurance company so they aren't gonna pay for it unless a lawyer steps in to fight em.

Now, there are frivilous lawsuits out there ... I don't think this would fall into that category.

[jhow66]

I told you someone was going to make Shifty mad.

[FirstGen]

I couldn't have agreed more. Good points and good intentions by both parties. I think unfortunatly for 99.9% of the people out there, a vehicle is nothing more than something with 4 wheels that takes them somewhere. It is easily replaced and that's all an insurance company takes into consideration.

Originally Posted by shifty

Man, you're really quick to jump into someone else's thread and insult someone with an off-topic post, aren't you? Troll much?

Maybe you don't know how this whole thing normally works - the insurance company has lawyers and they have the insurance adjusters that they pay nicely to underprice and underquote everything and total a truck like that at the drop of a hat so they can pay out 1/4 of the amount it's really worth. If he sues that woman, she doesn't pay a dime, the insurance company does. That's why people like you and I pay for insurance in the first place...in case we screw up and hit someone. Your best bet in any wreck where more than a thousand or two in damage is done is to get a lawyer. If they have them, why should you be the only one who doesn't? I know, a lot of people hate/don't trust lawyers...and it's understandable. Most of the people that run our country were lawyers and the lawyers and politicians alike are shady!


I don't have any lawyers in my family, but I've been in a lot of wrecks and I know how the system works, I've been dragged through it more than I care to recount (ok ,so it was 6 wrecks from age 15 to 22, only 2 are my fault, the rest are negligent drivers). I'm thinking about it from an emotional perspective. I see what the guy put into his truck and I know if that was my truck, it would have been as dear to me as one of my children. Having it killed (literally) at the hands of a negligent driver would leave me on the ground in tears and I don't cry. That truck is irreplaceable. It would be like losing a family heirloom to me personally, some keepsake that you just can't replace. No matter what he does, he will never have that truck back. Maybe you missed the recent videos he posted showing him racing a Z06 'vette. Those are some of his last memories having a blast in the truck. He will never experience that again. All because some lady was following too closely or her reaction time was delayed because of distractions (kids? cell phone? just wasn't watching the road? who knows?)

Bottom line....You, JYJ or anyone else can sit here and talk about the decline of our country and how "sue-happy people" are causing degredation of our life and well-being, but the sad truth is, the people who lead you to believe that crap are usually the ones who are at risk to take a loss from people getting a lawyer in the first place. It sucks that you hafta get a lawyer to keep from getting railroaded completely, but you can blame the businesses and insurance companies for keeping it that way. People like you and I need lawyers to even get a fair settlement out of it.

72 hours ago, this guy had an incredible prize-worthy truck...now he has a twisted hunk of metal and memories of "what might have been" and "what will never be". That is worth someting in my book, but it's not tangible to an insurance company so they aren't gonna pay for it unless a lawyer steps in to fight em.

Now, there are frivilous lawsuits out there ... I don't think this would fall into that category.

[shifty]

Originally Posted by jhow66

I told you someone was going to make Shifty mad.

I'm not mad. I just think it's rude and ignorant to disrespect a person you don't know on a forum because you may not understand what they're trying to get across - and rather than ask, you jump to conclusions and post something derogatory. It's not only unfriendly, it's childish.

I agree with you, FirstGen. In a world of safety devices (airbags, crumple zones, etc.) and distractions (cell phones, fast food) people just aren't as wary of driving as they should be and don't respect the road. It doesn't help that the car of choice these days in urbia and suburbia is a freaking tank gas hog that annihilates even hardened steel vehicles like ours.

Since 2006 started, I have seen at least a half a dozen people on the forums that have been smacked in some way shape or form by careless driving (the guy who got rear-ended in AZ while parked on the side of the road is just ... freaking mind boggling). I think if punishment was a little more severe, maybe this type of crap wouldn't happen as often. But then if you increased punishment, some rights group would probably start *****ing about how it's unfair to punish people for not paying attention or something

Oh - and I'm serious! If you're moving to a Porsche, I want first dibs on your fuel cell, A/C stuff and maybe some other parts!

[junkyardjohn]

IN MY TOWN OF ABOUT 100,000 PEOPLE THERE ARE 6 DENTISTS 9 PLUMMERS & 43 LAWERS. ENOUGH SAID. JOHN

[Jim_PA]

Originally Posted by shifty

Man, you're really quick to jump into someone else's thread and insult someone with an off-topic post, aren't you? Troll much?

No, but I don't have to like your attitude towards something. Sorry for not liking what I read.

Hopefully the 2 times the wreck was your fault, you got the S sued out of you?

[Sweet72]

Sorry to hear about your pickup. Hope insurance covers everything, and unless she was in fact negligent as in "filing her nails, talking on the phone or putting on makeup etc.", I wouldn't even bother with lawyer. I'm still trying to get insurance to pay a doctor bill from when somebody rear-ended me in '02. My credit record looks like crap 'cause I refuse to pay out of my pocket for an accident where I was the victim.

[1969 C/K CST]

That hurts. Money is one thing, but the time. Dang.

[thejoker]

Sorry to see this. Good luck with the compensations, I hope it goes well for you!

JKR