Damn red light runners!!!

['96explorereddiebauer]

Last night, I got a call from my little sister telling me that my dad was in an accident. He was driving our '94 Chrysler Town & Country minivan through an intersection and this girl driving this car (I don't know what car yet) ran the red light at 50 mph and broadsided the van.

The van suffered severe damages at the front left side of the van. From what my dad told me, the front left wheel is bent, both airbags deployed (thank goodness for them!!), the seatbelts worked as they were supposed to (VERY VERY thankful for that), hood, both front fenders and the bumper are trashed. This info was from my dad. I can't tell you what I see because I'm at school and home is about 2 hours away.

There were three people in the van--my dad, my grandmother, and my little sister. They are ok. All of them were transported to the ER for tests. My grandmother suffered chest pains so the docs did tests and found out it was the seat belt holding her in place during the crash so it was just muscle aches. My dad didn't feel well after the crash b/c of the gases in the airbags. My sister suffered a little cut on her neck b/c of the seatbelt.

Overall, I'm very very glad that the van protected them from suffering any serious injuries. I told dad to take lots of pics so when I get home next week, I'll try to get them developed and scanned so I can post them on here.

I'm very angry at that girl b/c there's no excuse to run a red light!! Seriously!!!! Oh...here's another thing about her. She's a newly licensed driver with restricted time limits. The time frame for restricted licensed drivers are 5am-9pm. So basically, they can drive during that time only. The accident happened at 9:30pm last night. So the cops are charging her for running a red light, driving at excessive speed, causing an accident with injuries, and driving outside of the time restraint. I can see her insurance go sky high. Oh...there's a passenger with her too and she suffered a little more severe injuries while the driver is totally fine.

I'm sorry for this long post but I just have to vent!!

Oh yeah...one more thing. I spent 6 hours last weekend detailing that thing and the insurance may total the van. I'm soooooooo mad!!!!

Here's a pic of it after the wash before detailing:

Again, sorry for the long post. I'll try to post the damaged pics next week.

 

[diablo5969]

Glad to hear everyone made it out ok, and the other chick is getting what she deserves.

Don't worry about it, it gives you an excuse to detail the van again when you get it back!

 

[A Wise Guy]

Also glad to hear everybody is ok. Gee I wonder if she ran the red light because she was in a hurry because of the whole license restricted thing? As for the van yeah it bites that it may be totaled but it did it's job. It took the hit for your dad, grandma and sister. Who cares if it is a gonner, it saved three lives that night. As for your labor of the fresh detail that could be a good thing because it may pull a little less of an insult from the insurance company if they have to pay out on it.

 

[Siekyre]

Glad everyone is ok!! a 50 mile side impact, I'd say that van did an excellent job of protecting them. Score one for Chrysler Corp.

 

[jasonb]

this happened to my mom recently. 16 yr old chick on a cell phone ran a 4way stop and tboned my mom. mom was in a 93 accord. girl in a 1st gen explorer. she hit my mom smack in the drivers door. other motorists at the other 2 stop signs reported the girl to be going about 45 (its a 25mph zone). mom had 4 broken ribs from where the door was smashed in. otherwise she was fine. destroyed the driver door, rear driver side door, front fender panel, broke windshield, soom of roof bent in. driver window was not broken (phew). car was totaled.. but it never stopped running. it drove afterward!

i have NO simpathy for redlight runners, stop sign runners, etc. blatantly disobeying traffic rules puts people at extreme risk. i wish these people would NEVER get a license again.

 

[A Wise Guy]

My wife had a similar one but was able to notice that the lady comming from her right side in a 55 MPH zone was not even making an attempt to stop at the stop sign. When my wife noticed she was already on her way into the intersection and jammed on the breaks. The sign runner skimmed off her front bumper and sailed her minivan into a farm field. '92 Cavalier held up fairly well. An eye witness after making sure everybody was ok gave my wife her business card and said if you need anything be sure to call. After the insurance company found out about the witness they just paid out without hesitation. The lady's title was Assistant District Attorney.

 

[jssong]

damm.. thats crazy.. glad everyones ok.

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I will definitely find out what's going on and stuff and let you guys know. Gotta study now. 4 finals in 4 days isn't gonna be fun. I'll definitely let you guys know when I get home Thursday.

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Well. It's settled. They're totaling the van. My little sister found out and she started crying. I guess it's because she has been in it since she was born. She's 9 years old and we got the van a few months after her birth. She loves that van.

The insurance company said the main reason for totalling it was because the frame was bent. It was too expensive for them to repair. Another thing was the airbags. They costs about $2000 for replacing both of them.

My dad took pics of it. I'll try to get it developed and scanned so I can post them on here.

RIP 5/2/03

EDIT: My dad wants the van fixed. Can we do that?? If so, what do we need to do?? And do we have to pay for the repairs??

If we decided to take the money instead, is there any way we can negotiate for a higher price?? If so, any pointers??

Thanks guys!!

 

[Stephen]

I'm really sorry to hear about the accident pal, glad you're family is okay. Those Chrysler vans are tough as hell, my sister has a 96 LXi. She, her husband and her son were in it and were hit by some little Honda, damn near totalled the van but they were just fine. The van was fixed and is still on the road, you'd never know it was in an accident.

You can buy the vehicle back from the insurance company. Basically what that means is they total it, pay you, and then you turn right around and buy it back. In this scenario you would have to pay for the repairs out of pocket, plus then you have to get it insured as a salvage vehicle. In my opinion its really not worth it. I can understand having an emotional attatchment to the vehicle, but if it were my family riding in it, I wouldnt have confidence in its ability to protect them in another crash. Thats totally aside from the financial issues...

 

[AintNoFantasy]

she's gettin what she deserves...

 

[sunbum]

Glad to hear your families are basically ok... it's a tragedy when these things happen and people just don't take driving seriously enough these days.
I tend to drop the hammer on the interstate but I'm very focused on driving, and have a hands-free set with auto-answer for my cell while in the vehicle. I also ensure I take it easy through neighborhoods, which I see some kids in their ricers flying through the nieghborhood. It's all about muffler noise and stereo, despite being 10:30+pm.
It's believe it's a law in some states that if you're on the cell phone while traveling, it has to be on a handsfree - I think more states should adopt that. I'm amazed at the number of people with their head cranked to a side with the phone on their ear, or cross-handed and holding it to their head? Hello?

Additionally, around here they are ticketing people for running yellow lights... I think people in general push the limit when approaching lights... ticketing yellow is a lil extreme but if it helps protect people, perhaps it's necessary in these times. People need to approach intersections with caution, give themselves room to stop so they're not flying through and pushing lights, risking injury to all. DEFINITELY don't be the first one out of the intersection anymore, as geen does not mean go now anymore, it means proceed with caution... too many @$$heads out there these days.

 

[vbtruk]

Billy i hope everything is ok and that it all works out i am real sorry to hear about that and i can only begin to imagine how you feel as i nearly got cleaned up by a red light runner in my truck a couple months ago when i was heading off to work at 3:30 am and if i didn't see him at the last second in the corner of my eye and hit the breaks he would have totaled me for sure, i am gussing he fell asleep or was dazing at that time of the morning but he didn't even stop or anything. Take care and good luck.
VB

 

[drmoore71]

It's believe it's a law in some states that if you're on the cell phone while traveling, it has to be on a handsfree - I think more states should adopt that. I'm amazed at the number of people with their head cranked to a side with the phone on their ear, or cross-handed and holding it to their head? Hello?

i just had to share this: yesterday, i was on my way over to my parents house and saw this teenish girl driving a camry coming toward me. she had her seat reclined waaaay back, had her head ****ed over to the right holding the phone in her right hand, dangling her (oh so cool!) cigarette out the window with her left hand and driving camry with..............HER FOOT!! what the hell are some people thinking? btw, billy, i am thankful that your family is ok. and if i was your dad, i'd let the t&c go. it's very hard, i know, i had to do it with my '95 xlt last year, but there is a just as good vehicle out there with your dad's name on it, don't worry. it's just a car, it can be replaced. good luck.

 

[02XSport]

damn, I hate red light runners. Glad to hear everybody is okay. My brother had the same thing happen to him a few months ago. And this was three days after I spent all day working on his Jeep and I had it running perfect!...then it got totalled.

Basically, my brother had the green left-turn arrow, he started to pull out into the intersection, but at the same time a red Chevy Silverado 2500 was running the red light at around 60 mph and he pretty much sliced the front of the jeep right off...

 

[DaHeinah]

Oh that sucks, glad you and your family are OK. 50 mph...Damn!
I was just Tboned by a Dodge caravan (95) just a couple of months ago. It cost his insurance 2700 to repair. Poor guy, he was on his way to prom with his date.
Glad everyone is ok!
Greg

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Thanks for the kind words guys!! I really need help now. The insurance company is willing to offer $4900 for the car. That's way too low for our taste so we're going to negotiate for a better price. According to Kelly Blue Book, I can get at least $6000 retail. Do insurance companies go for that price?? Another question is what should I say when I'm negotiating with them. I'm sorry for asking a lot of questions. Thanks!!!

BTW, this is what we're driving right now.

Hard to believe, but it's a rental. It's a '03 Dodge Stratus ES. It's top-of-the line model. It has fog lights, chrome rims, kick-ass system, and a very very quick V6 engine. I've been driving that the last few days and I'm very very impressed. Best of all, it gets about 25 mpg. That's way better than my truck!!

According to my dad, the pics were taken on a new roll of film so we're gonna finish the roll tomorrow on my sister's b-day. Then I'll be taking it to get it developed. I can't believe my sister will be 10 tomorrow!!! Time flies!!!

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Anyone??

 

[DaHeinah]

Sorry about the delay...finals .
Anyway, when my dad 88 Bronco was nailed by a F-250 at 65 mph eek: ), the insurance tried to do the same thing. They only offered him 3300, even though the vehicle was worth about 7000 at the time. We printed a retail blue-book appraisal off of kbb.com and gave them a copy. We made it aware since their customer had destroyed our car, it would be necessary for them to provide enough cash to buy a vehicle of equivalent worth. For what it's worth, it worked. $4900 is too low, I'd definitely fight them on it, that looked like a great little van (LIke the stratus!!!!)
Hope everything works out, just be persistent on these guys and they should crack.
Happy birthday to your sister!
Greg

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Thanks for the tips, Greg!!! I truely truely appreciate it. I called the insurance company today and they said the price is the market price. It's the price that people pay when they purchase this van within the 90 days. I think it's total bullcrap. I asked her where she got her source from and it is ADPAutosource. She also said she doesn't go by the blue book or any book for that matter. I'll check that adpautosource thingy tonight and see if this is accurate. Thanks again man!!!

Thanks for the happy b-day. She turned 10 yesterday. Boy, does time fly??