Car accident, Sad day for Betty Options

[dr914@autoatlanta.com]

OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Not after all of these years! That was a hard hit, Clay. For you not to be hurt says a lot for your youth and flexibility as well as the strength of the 914

The car can certainly be fixed but would take a lot, the probably end of a long love affair. I am happy that at one time or two I saw that car in the flesh.

I also hate to see a 914 that survived all of these years finally get it. One would think that the car deserved a free pass from accident

This 1974 1.8, 400,000 mile car was Betty's pride and joy. It was a survivor. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

@ClayPerrine was driving yesterday. @Betty was at home. No injuries. Struck from behind by an inattentive driver while stopped at a light.

Glad Clay is okay. Heartbroken for Betty.

[Larmo63]

Dang it, this is not good news. I'm glad you aren't hurt, Clay.

We're family here..........!

Can't even blame the cat?

[Rusty]

Glad Clay is OK! Just like him to bring oil dry to his own accident

I laughed. I'm probably going to hell. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Lucky9146]

Glad Clay is OK, Sucks about the car.

[Superhawk996]

So glad that Clay wasn't injured. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)


This is the same way my 1st 914 died. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

Just like my 914, the rear end folds up -- really was an advanced crush zone before such a thing ever was "designed" intentionally. Amazing little cars.

So sad to see a survivor go like this! I get so angy at these sorts of "accidents" that really aren't an accident. They are driver negligence, plain and simple.

Hopefully your state has better insurance laws than we have here in MI with No Fault laws. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif) Sorry I slammed into you when I wasn't paying attention. Oopsie. My bad. No Fault -- sorry for you loss. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif)

[Krieger]

What a shitty day! So sorry for you guys. I hope you did or will go into the doctors anyway.

[rjames]

What a shitty day! So sorry for you guys. I hope you did or will go into the doctors anyway.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)
That's a big impact to take.

Very sorry to see this. Glad you're ok.

[914_teener]

So glad that Clay wasn't injured. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)


This is the same way my 1st 914 died. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

Just like my 914, the rear end folds up -- really was an advanced crush zone before such a thing ever was "designed" intentionally. Amazing little cars.

So sad to see a survivor go like this! I get so angy at these sorts of "accidents" that really aren't an accident. They are driver negligence, plain and simple.

Hopefully your state has better insurance laws than we have here in MI with No Fault laws. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif) Sorry I slammed into you when I wasn't paying attention. Oopsie. My bad. No Fault -- sorry for you loss. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif)

Texas is NOT a no fault state. I think the min damage limit is 25k.

He may have to sue for the difference. Total it and find a Celette bench.

In At Fault cases it eaves it open to the driver that hit Clay to say he didn.t see his brake lights since the car is so low....no third brake light.....crap like that.

I like No Fault insurance for just that very reason. Fault doesn.t matter your own insurance pays the claim.

[anderssj]

Glad everybody is uninjured, and yes it's just a car, but still...after more than 400K, it's a damn shame. Sorry.

[davep]

Very sorry to hear of this. I agree that Clay should be checked out, and a massage would really be helpful. Betty must be devastated; my sympathies. It will be interesting to see the totality of the damage.

[JRust]

Major bummer Clay but glad you are okay. A second for getting yourself checked out. Many times you don't notice things until later that week. So go see a Chiropractor at the least. Keeping my fingers crossed insurance treats you right. Love to see it get fixed but no small deal there

[MartyYeoman]

OUCH!!

I've seen it before, jump out of the car "I'm OK, I'm OK" then 48 hours later "Fuck, I can't move."

Hope yours is a fast recovery.

[MM1]

What a blessing to survive such fools . . .the good news is you just were granted a new lease on Life . . .here's to 20 more great years (and another renewal)!

[horizontally-opposed]

So glad Clay is okay—and hope he is really okay. A cranioscopic chiropractor is well worth the hourly fee in a case like this, just to get an "eastern medicine" second opinion and to relax muscles that tightened up in dealing with a hit like that.

Looks like this 914 did its most important job well, but it's heartbreaking to see that it had to after all these years (!!!) and miles (!!!) of careful driving and maintenance because a driver just couldn't be bothered with paying attention in the moment. I'm so sorry, Clay and Betty. This was a beautiful example, and I hope it can somehow be saved or live on in one form or another.

[ClayPerrine]

Betty and I just got home from taking her car to the body shop. Richard Fisher has the car now. He says it can be fixed, because there is no replacing that car. That is Betty's baby. The body color says it all.... Phoenix Red. He will be at the next Okteenerfest. <determined>

What happened:

I was driving to Lowes to pick up some fungicide for the bushes at the front of the house. I was stopped at a light, first in line in the left lane. There was a pickup in the middle lane next to me. Just idling with my feet on the clutch and brake.

I never saw it coming. The witness who gave me his contact info told me the Honda crested the hill behind him, and he was in the triple digits. He saw the big Chevy pickup in the middle lane, and changed to the left lane to go by him. He hit me at speed, there were no black marks leading up to the point of impact.

Everyone here knows I am short, so I drive with the seat all the way forward. The impact was hard enough that the seat tracks are bent. The seat is still all the way forward, but the back of the headrest was smashed. My legs hit the bottom of the steering wheel bruising my upper thighs. The seatbelt caught me on the rebound, and left bruises on my left shoulder and stomach. I was thrown back hard enough that my head hit the headrest and left a huge lump on my head. The impact was so hard that the radio and the ash tray popped out of the dash. I was pushed forward about 30 feet with the rear wheels locked hard. I left black marks from the point of impact to halfway across the intersection.

The impact also crumpled the rear of the car so much that the engine support bar is now U shaped, and both ears are broken off the transmission. I had to use a sawsall to cut the shift rod to get it out of gear, and it still won't roll. The door gap on the left side at the top went from about 4mm to over 10mm. The EMT on the scene checked me out.

The other driver was a guy in his late 40s. The airbag discharged and knocked him cold. About 4 locals that saw the wreck surrounded his car so he couldn't leave. I called 911, and got the LEO and ambulances coming.

This morning I went to Carenow. The doc there is the one that stitched me up when I cut my finger in the garage. He did the whole check for concussion, and said I was going to hurt for days. Lucky I have a hard head.

I called last night and reported the accident to my insurance. Today I called my agent so he could clairfy how this is going to work. He is not in today, but I will hear from him tomorrow. He is a PCA member with a 2016 911 Turbo.

We then took the car to Van Alstine where Richard's shop is located. It is an hour's drive and 60 miles to there from home. Richard helped us unload the car. It didn't come off easy, they used a forklift to lift the rear and pull it off the trailer, while the front came down the ramps.

Once the insurance estimates are done, the repair work will start.

Richard has already found the rear from a 74 to use as a donor. The front was used to fix another 74 that hit a fire hydrant.

Betty has been inconsolable since she picked me up at the scene.

The bottom line is, that car saved my life yesterday after some asshole tried to kill it and me. That is the same car that I rode in on our first date. It is the first 914 I ever rode in and the first one I ever drove. We drove home from our wedding in that car. Hundreds and hundreds of road trips, weekend drives, the list is too long to complete.

That asshole tried to kill one of my children.

Thanks for everyone's sympathy. We do appreciate it.

Oh and the joke about bringing my own oil dry is funny, so don't feel bad about it Rusty.

And a shoutout to @Spoke . The LED tail lights still work. I pulled the hazard switch and they all started to flash. The right one is pinched inside the crumpled tail light, but it was still flashing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)



Clay

[Maltese Falcon]

That is def a big bummer, and very good news that You are the star here and You walked away ! Do get yourself checked up at your physician's asap. We will all come up with ideas to correct the material thing here , Betty's pride + joy 914 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif)

[Jgilliam914]

That ruined a good day .. Glad everyone is well

[jim_hoyland]

Thanks for your update Clay; we all feel the pain. Looking forward to the rebuild.

[Cairo94507]

Glad to hear the update. Man, you are one lucky guy. I would run to the store and buy $50 worth of lottery tickets. Also looking forward to the Phoenix rising from the accident as it is rebuilt to live on and hit 500K miles. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[ahycaramba]

Its always good when you can walk way from any accident. Glad you're ok Clay. May your love for Betty live on in your next 914.