Weekend Carnage

[RickSE]

My life changed this past Sunday afternoon. Fortunately my wife and son are still here with me. To make a long story short a 16-year old girl in a 1998 Dodge 4X4 Ram that she did not own, ran a stop sign at excessive speed. My wife did all she could to stop in our 2001 Chevy 2500HD Crew Cab but T-Boned into the Dodge. The cab blew off of the Dodge, ejecting the passenger. The other driver and passenger were not wearing seatbelts but are alive and will recover. My 6-year old son was in the back seat, in a car seat, and walked away. My wife was wearing her seatbelt and went to hospital, but is home now. My summer is ruined; the truck that I special ordered and waited 6-months to get is probably gone. No boating or drag racing this summer. But I am blessed with the fact that my wife and son are here, and are alive. :) The rest can be fixed. Any lesser of a vehicle though and the outcome would have been a lot different. The big old Chevy won this one.

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[HP 600SC]

Rick, sorry to hear about your accident......
thank God you and your family are ok!
Hope to see you soon,
Ted M.

[harbormaster]

Adds new meaning to the phrase "Dodge Ram".

Glad your family is OK!

[HyperDonzi]

Wow, those are some pretty crazy pics. Wear your seatbelt everyone.

Good to hear you are ok.

Tommy

[MOP]

Thank God your most important people are Ok. I know the harts and minds of the Donzi members are in your corner. Please give us updates on the misses.

[catch 22]

Glad to hear your wife and son are going to be fine. Thank god they were wearing their seatbelts. I have a 2003 2500HD Crew Cab and I Love this truck. It's definitely built Like a Rock. You can replace the truck but there are some things you can't. Again glad to here everyones ok. Jim and Gina

[olredalert]

------Before reading your post I was sort of on the fence about kids seats.Understand that I dont have kids so I never really looked deeply at the subject.I always would say "we didnt have em growing up,and we made it just fine".Your family threatening disaster has made me change my attitude for ever.Jan and I hope you all recover soon,both physically and mentally.Be as posative as you can possibly be.It really helps.................Biil S

[olredalert]

------Before reading your post I was sort of on the fence about kids seats.Understand that I dont have kids so I never really looked deeply at the subject.I always would say "we didnt have em growing up,and we made it just fine".Your family threatening disaster has made me change my attitude for ever.Jan and I hope you all recover soon,both physically and mentally.Be as posative as you can possibly be.It really helps.................Bill S

[Dr. Dan]

:cool: Rick....You're right any lesser vehicle would've been a different story....a speedy recovery to everyone...you'll be in our prayers!
Doc & Lizard... wink

[Tony]

Great decision to stick with a car seat for your son. Many people bail out of them when the child becomes a little older than an infant or toddler. Some things should not be compromised, and obviously our kids is one of them.

Godspeed with your family's recovery!

[Fish boy]

Rick,

I am really glad you and yours are healthy and well. Sorry about the truck, it sure was a beautiful ride.

[CnV & Family]

Rick,

The most important thing... the family is ok. Yes, everything else can be replaced. I was on the receiving end of a phone call when something very similar happened to my brother. The guy that hit him headon had a small child in the back of his jeep with no seatbelt! :mad: We will definitely be keeping our little one in a car seat for a while.

Again, and most importantly of all, glad the family is alright.

Sincerely,
-C

[Donzigo]

Sorry to hear about this.Glad the family is safe, that's all that really matters in this world.

[PaulO]

Rick,
When my first son was born almost 4 years ago, we moved up from a Jeep Cherokee to a Chevy Suburban for safety reasons. Two weeks ago, my wife was T-boned by an 80 plus year old couple who blew a stop sign in their Hyundai. My family (wife and 2 kids now)escaped without a scratch. Just got the Burban back from the body shop and I am happy to have my family back in it. That sucker did its primary job! (pretty good for vacations and boat hauling too)
Glad your family is okay.
PaulO

[vonkamp]

Rick,
Glad your family is okay. A crash like that is a terrible thing to go thru and will take a while to get over.
Back in oct 2001 a had a frighteningly similar accident. Me,F150 vs Dodge Ram that ran stop sign.
I'm sure you've done so but I have to say this, GET AN ATTORNEY. His insurance co. fought everything despite clear liability. I just got a final settlement check last month. Take care, our thoughts are with you.
Baron

[Darrell]

Glad to hear everyone is going to be Ok! :) You need to thank the man upstairs (But I'am sure you done that already.) Don't let it ruin your summer, Your dealer can search the entire nation for the truck you want. There are a lot of good rebates and incentives right now and it's a good time to buy. If you can't find the Chevy you want, take a look at the GMC. (If you where out here in Okla. I would glad to help you at our dealership, E-mail me if you have any questions or advice about your next purchase.)


Darrell

[smokediver]

Rick, glad to hear that you are ok... and every one made it.. You are all very fortunate that you were wearing seatbelts.. Seat belts and car seats work ... that is for sure..

[RickSE]

Thanks for all the messages and positive comments.

Everything is going down hill. The other driver was underinsured and the max I can collect for property damage is $10K. My truck repair estimate is now at $16.5K and will probably go higher. It's now basically up to my insurance company, USAA, to fix the truck. I now have to decide if I should go after the 16-year old driver and her parents for compensation. We're talking to an attorney this afternoon.