kystone

I'm driving into work this morning, going the speed of traffic when all of a sudden the guy in front of me slams on his brakes. I slam on my brakes to the point where ABS kicks in and I stop about 2 feet from the guy in front of me. A split-second later though, I hear and feel a crunch to the rear of my car and a second crunch as I hit the guy in front of me. At this point I just want to make sure my son who is in his carseat in back is OK. After I make sure he's OK, I leave the car to assess the damage. The guy in front of me ('96 Cadillac) has some scratches and minor damage to his rear bumper where I was pushed into him. The front of my TSX is pushed in and the hood is raised a bit. The back has the most damage where the Jag that was behind me hit the bumper and it looks like he went under the TSX a little. The trunk lid also got pushed up. In addition to the Jag that hit my car, there were two other cars behind him that had crashed into each other and then into him. (Hey, I was in my first multi-car pile-up!) No one was hurt thankfully but it just sucks. The car is only 7 months old and has only 5000 miles on it. Here's some links that show the damage:

http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3679.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3680.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3681.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3682.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3683.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3684.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3685.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3686.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3687.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3688.jpg
http://www.keyscape.net/04TSX_Damage/DSCN3689.jpg

I'll be taking it to Los Gatos Acura's body shop to get everything fixed and they'll work with my insurance company as well. Drive safely everyone.

ssm_tsx

ouch. How fast was the Jag going?


Why does the body shop have to deal with your insurance, isn't the guy in the jag responsible?

captainjack

So sorry to hear it. Glad you and son are OK.
Good luck.

stocker2000

I weep for you. You didn't mention it, but I know I would have levelled the person in the Jag! GD Ford product anyways. Crappy brakes. Not to mention innattentive driver.

I certainly hope it all works out for you.

dom

Soory to hear it. Any airbags go off?

Brad

OUCH! Nasty bruises on your car! I'm so sorry!

With the front hood raised a bit, it vaguely reminds me of a Russian Moskvitch or Volga car.

And thank you for posting the pictures!

I don't know why and it's hard to explain, but somehow it's comforting--in a very odd way--to see other members' various TSX collision pictures.

Maybe it's just helps to communally "share the pain".

phile

Not really, it was a pile up. If anything, it's the guy at the end of the line who's responsible for everyone else's damage, he started the cascade.

ostrich

kystone, I am so sorry to hear about your accident! It was painful to see those pictures... especially since we both have the same TSX (NHB/EB/5AT/Navi)!!!

What on earth was that idiot doing in front of you, braking so suddenly? Is he going to be paying for everyone's damages or what? Who will be "at fault" here?

Hope you feel better soon!

kystone

Got back from the body shop a little while ago. They estimate to fix the front and back to be about $4000 total. Ouch. They also estimate that it won't be done for 3 weeks. They're working with my insurance so that they will get paid. My insurance is working with the other 4 guys' insurance companies to determine who was at fault and then they'll get reimbursed from that company. (Probably the last guy in the pile-up but not sure.)

We were doing about 50-60 on the freeway when all of this happened. Normal traffic speed for that time of day there.

kystone

No airbags deployed from any of the cars. I guess we all stopped or slowed enough to where the impact didn't deploy the airbags.

G2Ray

Just out of curiosity, which freeway did this occur?

2004_Acura_TSX

Sorry to hear about the accident. Those pictures were sad to see, get her fixed.:'(

briny319

Why did the first guy slam on his breaks?

XPLORx4

Probably to avoid rear-ending the guy in front of him who slammed on his brakes.

Classic case of congested freeway driving, where everybody is always following too closely. Based on the damage caused, I'd guess the entire group of cars involved were travelling at below 30mph.

Was this on Hwy 85?

combustible1

ouch.
life sucks sometimes.
lots of times, actually.
get (TSX) well soon.

DEVO

Make sure that you are not listed as at fault, for the guy that you got pushed into. The person responsible for his damages (cadillac) is the guy in the jag.

bbbuzzy

I'm glad no one was hurt, as these highway pileups can be deadly. I drive 25 miles each way to work on Rt 128 around Boston and am amazed at the number of people who overdrive their ability each and every day. Just yesterday a college age woman was driving a half car length behind everyone as she weaved her way through traffic on a wet highway at night. She would have no chance of braking in time had anyone in front needed to brake quickly. People travel way too close to the people in front of them and it is ALWAYS the fault of the person who rear ends someone in the eyes of the insurance companies. If you leave additional room (multiple car lengths) between you and the one in front, you wont have to brake as hard if they slow down quickly. This will also give the person behind you a greater distance to slow down their car, etc, etc. Drive responsibly please.

Corbon91

Damn that sucks! It always hurts to see a good TSX messed up. I got rear-ended only a month after I got it so I know how it feels. My damages cost a little over $2000. Damn that Jag driver (I think it's his fault IMO). I'm sure he'll be paying a lot more for his insurance in the future. Glad to hear that you and your son are ok. Hope your baby gets fixed real soon.

Kanon23

no offense but I would rip off the Jag emblem to show how pissed I am if I were you

combustible1

I'm always surprised that there aren't MORE accidents happening. It's like a 'Mad Max' world out there on the highways.

kystone

For those of you in the Bay Area, this was on 880 North near Bascom Ave. It was around 10:00am so there wasn't too much congestion but there were still pockets of slowness and unfortunately someone had to come to a complete stop in our lane. (Fast lane.)

ecsw

That sucks. As long as u and ur son is well, that's the most important.

gregor

Sorry to hear it, but you and your son are OK. Cars can be fixed or replaced, you and your son can't.

spc

Keep a good distance and I hate people tailgate me! Normally I will let them pass or prepare a good enough space in front for stopping. Don't know how much time they have save and for what?

jackspat2

I think it's also kystone fault (not in my opinion). I heard it could be his fault due to the fact he didn't leave enough distance to the car in front of him. It was actually his car that his the caddy, but consequently because of the Jag. It seems logical that it is the jags fault but not in all cases. People tailgate too close nowadays. Tailgating doesn't save anytime nor does swirving in and out of traffic (or hardly any). Glad you and your family are safe!