Totaled Car-Thankful Mom

[kymom99]

In the spirit of being thankful, I wanted to share that my son was in an accident 2 weeks ago. It was 100% his fault. I am so thankful he walked away without a scratch. The car was eventually considered a total loss.

He was on the interstate and changed lanes in front of a semi. The truck hit the corner of his bumper, turned him sideways and broadsided him. The rear passenger window was broken out. There was damage to the entire drivers side. I still can’t believe he had no injuries. Let me tell you, Hondas are well made.

The worst part was that he was 6 hours from home. One thing you never want to hear from your son who communicates 99% of the time by text: I’ll call you in a minute. After he called and I got the bad news, we just didn’t know what to do. The state trooper told him he could drive the car so he got himself off the interstate to a rest stop. It was dark by that time and the rest stop was in the middle of nowhere. I was beside myself. We called insurance and they said they could tow it but they couldn’t guarantee the towing company would take him with them. So what do you do? Leave him at a rest stop with no way to get anywhere? Also, he had a car full of his belongings that he needed to deal with since he was coming home from his seasonal job in NY. He also called AAA and they couldn’t tell him how long it might take for someone to come get him.

After FaceTime where he showed us the damage and him talking to a buddy who knows a bit about cars, we decided he could continue on to a hotel, about 45 minutes away. Once he made it there, we were a bit relieved that he had a place to stay, although I still only slept 2 hours.

The next morning after a lot of back and forth, he decided to drive toward home and see how far he could get. He ended up making it the whole way home. We had started driving towards him so that we could meet him just in case. When we met up, my husband drove the car the rest of the way home and my son jumped in with me. My husband said the car actually rode fine. Even so, it was a punch in the gut to look at it.

We took the car to a body shop for an estimate. They gave us an estimate of almost $15000. They said it was about 72% of the value, so it would be close. Eventually they had to add some to the estimate which put it over the threshold.

We are getting almost what I paid for the car when I bought it 5 years ago, so that’s a relief. I have been looking at cargurus and I think he will be able to replace it with something a little newer if he adds some money to what the insurance is paying us for it. He is planning to buy the same kind of car since it has been trouble free for 5 years and has been still going strong.

So, today I am thankful for what didn’t happen.

 

[Crescent_Lake]

In the spirit of being thankful, I wanted to share that my son was in an accident 2 weeks ago. It was 100% his fault. I am so thankful he walked away without a scratch. The car was eventually considered a total loss.

He was on the interstate and changed lanes in front of a semi. The truck hit the corner of his bumper, turned him sideways and broadsided him. The rear passenger window was broken out. There was damage to the entire drivers side. I still can’t believe he had no injuries. Let me tell you, Hondas are well made.

The worst part was that he was 6 hours from home. One thing you never want to hear from your son who communicates 99% of the time by text: I’ll call you in a minute. After he called and I got the bad news, we just didn’t know what to do. The state trooper told him he could drive the car so he got himself off the interstate to a rest stop. It was dark by that time and the rest stop was in the middle of nowhere. I was beside myself. We called insurance and they said they could tow it but they couldn’t guarantee the towing company would take him with them. So what do you do? Leave him at a rest stop with no way to get anywhere? Also, he had a car full of his belongings that he needed to deal with since he was coming home from his seasonal job in NY. He also called AAA and they couldn’t tell him how long it might take for someone to come get him.

After FaceTime where he showed us the damage and him talking to a buddy who knows a bit about cars, we decided he could continue on to a hotel, about 45 minutes away. Once he made it there, we were a bit relieved that he had a place to stay, although I still only slept 2 hours.

The next morning after a lot of back and forth, he decided to drive toward home and see how far he could get. He ended up making it the whole way home. We had started driving towards him so that we could meet him just in case. When we met up, my husband drove the car the rest of the way home and my son jumped in with me. My husband said the car actually rode fine. Even so, it was a punch in the gut to look at it.

We took the car to a body shop for an estimate. They gave us an estimate of almost $15000. They said it was about 72% of the value, so it would be close. Eventually they had to add some to the estimate which put it over the threshold.

We are getting almost what I paid for the car when I bought it 5 years ago, so that’s a relief. I have been looking at cargurus and I think he will be able to replace it with something a little newer if he adds some money to what the insurance is paying us for it. He is planning to buy the same kind of car since it has been trouble free for 5 years and has been still going strong.

So, today I am thankful for what didn’t happen.

I feel you Mama! Babies and toddlers are a cake walk emotionally compared to teens and young adults.
So glad that your child is safe. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy your family!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Glad your son is ok. My son is an engineer in the auto industry and drives a Honda for a reason. He was stopped on a highways due to traffic. A semi did not even slow down and rear ended him and pushed him into the car in front. Car totaled and my son walked away without a scratch.

 

[eticketplease]

Very unfortunate story. So glad your DS is safe!! Your family has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

 

[Christine]

Glad to hear there was a good outcome here. You're right, it's just a parent's worst nightmare.

 

[eticketplease]

Glad your son is ok. My son is an engineer in the auto industry and drives a Honda for a reason. He was stopped on a highways due to traffic. A semi did not even slow down and rear ended him and pushed him into the car in front. Car totaled and my son walked away without a scratch.

Grew up as a Volvo family but we also have a Honda. It’s never good to hear these stories but it is nice to know that Honda is keeping your babies safe. That gives me confidence that DS will be safe when it’s time for him to graduate from Autopia / Tomorrowland Spoedway to our Honda.

 

[princesscinderella]

I’m so glad to hear your son is ok and his car did the amazing job of protecting him in the accident. It must have been so hard knowing he was so far away.

My son got into a fender bender a few years ago after he started driving and because I have the Ford app for his car on my phone too I started getting all kinds of texts saying brake failure, steering failure etc and I started panicking. I was so happy to have a phone call from him a few seconds later that he was ok.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Thanks so much for sharing this-your Thanksgiving will be extra special this year.

 

[cvjw]

A mother’s worst nightmare. So glad your son is ok!

 

[dvcgirl67]

Oh wow kymom99!! So glad that your son is okay! I can't imagine how terrifying it was to get that call.

 

[AnnaS]

So happy to hear your son is okay!!!

 

[slo]

I’m sure you want to hug your son every time you see him. Such a Thanksgiving blessing that he’s ok. It stinks about the car, but that’s nothing, your son’s life is priceless. I’m so glad he’s safe.
Happy Thanksgiving

 

[mjkacmom]

Happy ending. My oldest wrapped her civic around a pole after hydroplaning on a highway, she was taken by ambulance to a trauma center based on the condition of her car. She was able to call from the stretcher, if she had any passengers, they probably wouldn’t have survived. They cut off all of her clothes in the hospital, just cuts and bruises. Fortunately her college was only 45 minutes away, DH met her there and then they went out for lunch, she was given scrubs to wear. They then went to the tow yard to get her belongings from her mangled car.

 

[DisneyHardin]

So glad he is okay. I had a very similar thing happen when I was in college. I was about 2 or so hours from home coming home for the summer. I had gotten off the interstate to stop at McDonalds. When merging back on, I hydroplaned and hit the mounted median from the side, which caused the car to roll over. So many things showed me God was watching over me. It rolled on the grassy mounted median instead of asphalt and it landed right side up, and no other cars were involved. I was able to drive it back up the exit I had just come down. I called my Dad from a payphone (this was before cell phones). I waited at the gas station for 2 hours for him to come and get me. He drove the car all the way home and I drove his truck.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks for sharing, @kymom99. What a story. So happy to hear your son was okay. Much to be thankful for today, Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[kymom99]

So glad he is okay. I had a very similar thing happen when I was in college. I was about 2 or so hours from home coming home for the summer. I had gotten off the interstate to stop at McDonalds. When merging back on, I hydroplaned and hit the mounted median from the side, which caused the car to roll over. So many things showed me God was watching over me. It rolled on the grassy mounted median instead of asphalt and it landed right side up, and no other cars were involved. I was able to drive it back up the exit I had just come down. I called my Dad from a payphone (this was before cell phones). I waited at the gas station for 2 hours for him to come and get me. He drove the car all the way home and I drove his truck.

Oh my goodness! What a horrible experience!

When my son told me the full story, he also mentioned that the truck driver and the state trooper were very nice to him, seeing how upset he was. The trucker was about mid thirties. He told my son it’s ok, you’re here. That’s what’s important. And gods got you. He also said call your mom.

When trying to decide how to handle the situation, I called a towing company local to us to see how feasible it would be to have the car towed home. The man I spoke to went above and beyond, calling around to try to help us. He even contacted a place in the area where my son stayed the night. Just a fun fact, it was going to cost $2400 to bring the car home. Of course if that was necessary we would have told my son to do it that way. But in the end it wasn’t necessary.

I’m thankful for these people who helped in a very difficult situation. It restored my faith in my fellow man.

 

[emmybee]

When I was in my early 20s, my friend had a new car and license that we took out for a drive. We were almost at my house when she cut off a semi. (Not sure why as there was plenty of room to safely change lanes ahead of it.) The semi clipped the bumper and sent us spinning across 3 lanes of highway. I don't remember hitting other cars, but I think we did. The back end of the car was crushed and we were only inches from the median. That was a pretty lucky break. No one was seriously injured. My glasses did fly out the window, so I got a little bit of money to replace them. *whew*

 

[focusondisney]

@kymom99 I’m so glad your son is safe & he had others looking after him when you couldn’t be there. I’m sure this is an especially happy Thanksgiving for you. Thank you for reminding the rest of us how quickly life can turn & be grateful for the loved ones we have.

 

[MrsPete]

Your positive attitude and your ability to keep your eye on the big picture are admirable. In the long run, yes, your son is safe -- and everything else you can deal with.

I think all cars are safer than they used to be. A guy in our Sunday School class -- a state trooper -- says that if you're wearing your seatbelt these days, you're almost sure not to die in a car crash. Not a guarantee by any means, but some reassurance.

 

[jtopp]

Thankfully your son is ok. Buying the same type of vehicle is a good idea, as you already know the vehicle and its safety for your family. Good luck with your new vehicle.