Well guys - it's been fun but the truck got totalled...

[makakio]

Head-on at the deadliest curve on highway 17. Actually, a tail-to-head as the Altima came across the median, clipped a Suburban in front of us, spun 180 and we ended up packing it from behind at 40mph (it was still coming at I'm guessing 20mph). We drove all the way through the back of it up to the front seats. The guy died on impact (he's under that tarp). Me, the wife and my 5yo walked away with whiplash and belt bruises (daughter was untouched save for a little abrasion on her chin from that plastic clip they wear across their chest on the booster seat). Gnarly - never want to go through a car wreck again.

Glad we were in a truck and once again it has been proved that mass and velocity usually win. Look closely and you can see 6" of frame rails sticking out past where the front end got pushed back to the block.

Wear your belts tight, cinch those kids in - and watch out for the other guy. We just bought a perfect GX470 w/ 45k miles so I'm headed over to the Lexus boards. Thanks for all the entertainment and help over the years.

Oh - for those interested insurance paid out a few dollars short of $11k and end miles were 178k. Interestingly, while a total loss is certainly not the preferred way to exit a used vehicle, it's probably the most lucrative...

 

[AZ4FNER]

Wow, glad you are all OK. I hate to read these. Good luck with your future endeavors.

Who know's, maybe you'll be back?...

 

[IanB]

Glad to hear it kept you and your family safe! That sounds like an awful accident!

 

[makakio]

Scary as hell Ian. It all happened soooo fast that I barely had time to juke right a little and come off the gas. Fortunately, it was too quick to remember moments before the impending hit, so I haven't had any of those dreams where I relive it. Wife and daughter were deep into their iphone/itouch and they never even had time to flinch. It got scary after the hit wondering how many more times we were going to get nailed before traffic stopped, then it was all awful smells (airbags, fluids), taste (airbags, fear) and noise (horns jammed on, sirens, etc). Needless to say we all slept for about 12 hours once home from the ER.

The upside (if any) to this is that after 11 fatalities in 10 years at this spot, just under 150 accidents over the past THREE years here - and 15 years of requests from the CHP for a permanent barrier - CalTrans (CA hwy dept) put up a solid barrier and lots of active 'your speed is' signage as a response four days later. A week after that I was coming home (opposite direction) in the rain and traffic slowed to a crawl because some schmoo packed their Volvo into the new wall RIGHT where the guy who hit us came across a week earlier. They were standing next to their wreck talking with the CHP, which likely wouldn't have been the case any other way around...

 

[Baja Runner]

Ugh. Highway 17... such a scary road.

 

[Hepar]

Man, that's a nasty looking accident. I'm SO glad to hear you and your family are ok. It's just a vehicle. Easily replaceable.

 

[J. B.]

Wow. Glad you and the family walked away from that one.

Just curious... what time of day was this?

Obviously this didn't happen recently since it appears you've received your insurance settlement already.... so what date did this occur?

I drive hwy 17 a lot and I just can't see how these accidents can happen anymore unless it is during a very light level of traffic at some off peak hours with idiots behind the wheel.

Again, glad the T4R saved your bacon.

 

[blcktpgsr]

The truck is not as important as your safety and that of your family's...But i'm sure glad to hear you're all ok despite this horrific event.

 

[Dous]

Man glad you are all alright. Gotta be pretty creepy knowing that the guy died in the wreck

 

[JohnsD90]

Holy sh*t, this isn't a normal totaled thread. Soo glad you and your family made it out unscathed.

 

[the great him]

wow man glad you and you fam are ok and no worse for the wear it sounds like! im glad caltrans finally did something with that hwy, i remember driving that road aften as a kid heading down to Santa Cruz and Monterey to spend weekends when i was not in tahoe. i would haul a*s in my dads Mercedes on that road. i consider myself lucky now that i never had a crash on that road, although i had many close calls(that didnt seam to phase me at the time). im glad they finally did something.

at least you are keeping it Toyota! good luck with the new rig and always remember your 3rd gen! best of wishes!

 

[donkeyhoatie]

Oh mylanta, that looks bad. Glad to hear you and the family walked away all right.

 

[SCRunner12]

Damn, that's crazy. Which turn is it exactly? I'm always worried driving that road because people don't realize how dangerous it is. Thankfully your family wasn't hurt.

 

[4-Ripcord]

HOO

LEEE

SHIIIT!!

Thats gnarly man, glad you and the family are alright.

 

[makakio]

JB: it was 3/16 at 10:45am. Light rain, light to moderate traffic. MOST of us were just going it slow and taking it easy. The other guy was doing a long, long road trip for work (like Discovery Bay to Watsonville - which is actually safer and faster if you just take 101 down and avoid 17 altogether).

Dous: soooo creepy. Really the only thing that bothers me (mentally) about the wreck at this point.

Feel so bad for that guy and his family - I've slipped and caught it in the rain many times over the 25 years I've been driving it (and seen more than my share of horrific wrecks). It's a pretty, entertaining and seductive piece of road that really does not favor those in a hurry or those who check out mentally once they slip behind the wheel (a seemingly HUGE percentage of the driving population in CA). And although the fatals are way way way down over the years because almost all of it has been walled end-to-end, this was just one of those awful places that everyone knows should have been first to get a wall - but for the very loud (if small) contingent of residents on the intersecting road there (that didn't want to drive a mile either direction to a safe turnaround when leaving or returning home).

 

[makakio]

Damn, that's crazy. Which turn is it exactly? I'm always worried driving that road because people don't realize how dangerous it is. Thankfully your family wasn't hurt.

Laurel curve. Now walled, but it's bad going northbound (uphill) because it kinks a little and goes off-camber right after the apex, so many drivers over-correct for the kink and just slide right into the mountainside when it's wet.

On the way down (southbound), it's the 8th of 8 high-speed sweepers coming south (downhill) from the summit, so your carry speed is usually pretty high coming into it - plus it starts banked and then goes flat at apex, which catches most average (read: slow-reaction) drivers behind, so they're working the wheel and upsetting balance right as traction goes away. The wet magnifies this effect by magnitudes of order.

 

[SCRunner12]

Yeah I remember seeing a speed sign and the new barrier last time I drove 17. Pretty crazy. Glad you are safe and will you be getting another 4runner?

 

[makakio]

Nah - just picked up a sweet 07 GX470 CPO with only 45k miles for a song. It had the 45k svc, new brakes, tires and a new windshield (interestingly) fitted. Perfect 10/10 truck in and out and my wife really wanted to go 'fancy' this time around.

It's been two days and I already miss the roll-down rear window. BUT, I get to romp on a V8 at lights :biggrin2: so it's a tradeoff.

My BMW goes away (as planned at least) in two years and if gas prices aren't continuing to march towards $5/gal I might just buy a great 3rd gen (or good 4th gen) and mod the crap out of it. I loved that truck...

 

[run4estrunner]

Was that the guy that spun out and made it through the short opening in the center divide on laurel curve?? Im pretty sure i was stuck in that traffic going to look at the 4runner i just bought up in the bay area. Sorry to hear about the truck and I am glad you and your family are ok.

 

[makakio]

Was that the guy that spun out and made it through the short opening in the center divide on laurel curve?? Im pretty sure i was stuck in that traffic going to look at the 4runner i just bought up in the bay area. Sorry to hear about the truck and I am glad you and your family are ok.

Dunno, but if it was anytime that day between 10:45am and when they reopened NB 17 at 4pm that afternoon I'd say yep.