Totaled my Zuki on the Hwy Thru Hell: Black Ice

[Okanagan]

Wake up, little Suzi



Very sore
today but no broken bones. 

Forecast looked good for the Coquihalla Pass so I headed out at 2:00 AM to cross the mountains and hunt mule deer.  Plenty of time, drove 35 mph most of the way through the 15 miles of slush and snow over the top.  Down into rain on the east side so after 25 miles of driving wet pavement down ever lower elevation, I stopped and turned the hubs out of 4 wheel drive. 

Two miles later on a slight curve to the left and slightly downhill, the rear end started to come around.   I was doing just under 45 mph.  I steered to get it back and had it almost straight when the rear end suddenly whipped way around the opposite direction.  I knew I would never recover control from that but tried and nursed it through two oscillations before the first impact, head on into the right side concrete barrier while still sliding sideways. 

I was going fast enough that I expected to flip over the barrier and into the canyon below.  Those barriers are ingenious:  the right front corner slid up and then I slid along for quite a ways thinking that I would come to a stop hung up on the barrier.  Suddenly it whipped down and shot across the freeway to slam into the center barrier on the left rear, slamming my head into the driver side window.  Nothing broke.  Back across to hit the right side, ricochet off to hit the left again and it finally came to a stop in the left lane.

For the first time I was scared, afraid that another vehicle would hit me from behind.  Headlights and tail lights were on, but hazard lights would not work and the engine would not start.  It took three ever harder tries to get the driver side door open.  Got some invaluable help from a guy in a pick-up who stopped and called 911, BCAA (like triple A for Yanks).

Very little pain in my right pectoral muscle (nah, it is nothing...) till 45 minutes went by.  I was stubborn and waited till we got my vehicle towed and my rifle stowed with a friend who came out from the nearest town.  By 90 minutes I was stiff all over, in great pain and went into shock tremor all over soon after they got me in the ER.   A stiff shot of Demerol settled me down.

Thank God and Greyhound I'm home.  A friend offered me his pick-up but I was leery of driving an unfamiliar vehicle over the still-icy CocaCola Highway, while still stiff and in pain myself.

The couple sitting next to me on the bus had totaled their vehicle ten hours before I had on the same highway, same ER people etc. and were taking the bus home.  They tangled with a semi and at least one other vehicle and said that the TV crew from the show Highway Through Hell were there, stuck cameras into the ambulance they were in, etc. 

[pitw]

Wow.  That sounded like quite a ride.  Kinda/sorta like getting a ride in the amusement park for free.   Had a few of them .  The fact you can type about it makes me  .

[coyote101]

Glad you're okay Clyde.  Sound like quite a ride.

Pat

[riverboss]

Dang glad you will be OK.

Sent from my BLU STUDIO 5.0 C HD using Tapatalk

[Dave]

Wow - sounds like you were both unlucky and lucky at the same time!  Glad to see you weren't seriously hurt, but have the feeling you'll get a little sorer.

[Dale]

sounds like a hella ride... glad you're not hurt worse then you are... if the vehicle is repairable, that will be a plus...  if you have any Ester-C, 3000mg a day for the next 3-5 days will help considerably with the muscle soreness...

[HuntnCarve]

Clyde, glad you made it out with only some severe soreness.  The vehicle can be replaced, you cannot.  Heal up and hunt another day.

Dave

[HaMeR]

  Clyde-- I'm glad you weren't hurt any worse that you are!! Even more grateful you were out on a quiet road at that time & nobody else was involved!! Take care with those sore muscles & be careful getting them limbered up in the next few days!!!

[Okanagan]

It is nice to have folks glad that I survived.  Thank you!

When I stepped out of the vehicle I had to hang on to the door to keep from falling on a smooth sheet of clear ice with a trace of water on the surface.  The young cop had a hard time walking around to take pics. 

Least traffic I've ever seen on that highway, fortunately.  The few truckers warned one another by radio and there were almost no other vehicles.   The Suzuki was in the left lane around a left curve on a sheet of ice, with not enough shoulder on either side between the barriers to get it off the travelled portion.  I am grateful that more vehicles did not crash trying to avoid me.  An opportunistic tow truck showed up before the one sent by my coverage.  A highway maintenance foreman ordered me/him to tow the rig immediately no matter whether covered by insurance or not and without waiting for police to arrive because it was in such a dangerous place.  I agreed.  When the police officer arrived he checked the crash site with the maintenance foreman then came down about a mile to where we had towed the wreck to wait for him.  He never said a word about it, and gave me a copy of his report with no ticket.  If you mess up on ice you were going too fast for conditions, a universal, even at 5 mph, but after he slipped around trying to walk from his car to the tow truck, he apparently has given me a pass.

Yep, amazing how quickly priorities surface while sliding toward a crash:  metal and rubber is cheap compared to life and limb.  Stuff is minor and can be replaced.  Frame is crushed back and twisted, engine pushed back, body banged all four corners and it is a rusty bodied old vehicle.  Write off.

I was the first and only ER patient but by the time I left after two hours, the place was jammed with black ice victims.  Two waiting rooms and all bays full, some from big rigs. 

Gotta go take a pain pill!  Some object must have hit my chest when everything was flying around inside the vehicle, maybe my binoculars or a pint jar of peanut butter at high velocity.   

[HaMeR]

or a pint jar of peanut butter at high velocity.   

Good golly Clyde knowing you are just banged up a little I don't mind the water that just sprayed all over the desk in front of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!       


Have you considered a CB radio for your next rig? We can give you a cool handle if ya cant think of one!! 

[FinsnFur]

ewww boy that dont look good at all
I'm glad your ok though. Your poor Suzi

[nailbender]

 Glad you''re OK. sounds like a helluva ride.

[Hawks Feather]

It sure sounds like it could have been MUCH worse.  Not that it was good at all, but the thought of going over a guardrail or being T-boned by another vehicle (like a truck) is worse.  Glad that you are still around to keep us updated on your condition. 

Jerry

[Dale]

again WOW... looking back at the picture, I can see where all the damages you're talking about would be highly probable... at first I thought just a bunch of sheet metal, but now can see where the door is jammed by the fender sliding back... it's a shame they are sweet vehicles for a small 4X4, dependable and handle well off road, I've had several acquaintance's that have had them and they loved them...

just good to hear you're still up right and mending...

[Okanagan]

Got in to our family doc yesterday, routine follow-up as per ER instructions.  Finally got through my thick skull that I am not merely sore but have a painful injury that is slow to heal.  The doc thinks that the end of my ribs flexed in and out where they attach to the sternum, not a bone break but connecting stuff torn.  A friend who got shot down a couple of times while flying scout helicopters in 'Nam told me that a wreck like mine is like putting a marble in a tin can and shaking it. 

Doggone, on Monday as I worked my way in and out of ER, towing yard, Greyhound arrangements, etc. I kept noticing the weather and thinking that it was a superb day to be hunting migrating mulies in the rut, likely in snow flurries up where they were.  What a wasted day!

[KySongDog]

Damn! Just saw this.  Very glad you are still with us, Clyde. The world is more interesting with you in it.
Stuff like cars can be replaced. People can't.

Johnny

[FinsnFur]

Listen to em and let er heal Clyde. The Mulies will be there.
Glad to hear things are progressing even if it is a slow process.