About a week ago I was on the I-15 freeway in Corona, CA (So Cal) at 5am (dark) when a 6x6 piece of wood fell off a truck in front of me. The minute I hit it, every bell on my 2007 TL went off. I pulled off at a gas station where I thought I would just fix the flat and be on my way. Little did I know that I had blown both driver-side tires. 3 hours later, after getting towed to the dealer, I was informed that I also busted both rims to the tune of $1300. I ended up claiming this "flat tire" on my insurance. Merry X-mas to me.

 

i hate it when stuff like that happened. that is why never drive behind truck or any vehicle with a load like that.

 

^^^^ x2

 

Yeah bro,

I here ya, in Nor Cal around I-5 there are TONS and TONS of big rigs hauling everything you could possibly imagine and a see something random on the road almost everyday.... I have seen a lumber truck full of 4 X 4's on the road a truck full of hay on the road a tomato truck all over the road the worst i have seen is a truck full of rims and tires that lost his load that shit was not cool

 

that must suck, how you just had to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

if its not too much bother, pics?

 

Wow.. sorry to hear of your mishap. I know this sucks.

 

Some years ago (maybe 15 or so) on a Monday evening, a co-worker and friend hit something on the Capital Beltway in Annandale where route 236 crosses over the highway. He saw the two vehicles in front of him suddenly lurch up and then he hit the same thing they did. He continued on a few miles then pulled off at an interchange to inspect his car. Seeing some debris that didn't look right, he decided to go back to the location where he hit the object.

When he got back, police were already there and he told them he hit the thing that was laying in the road. The officer replied, "yeah, you and everybody else". Seems he had run over a human being, though the sex was not obvious due to the amount of damage to the body.

You had to know Mike to appreciate his telling of this story. The world could collapse in front of him and he would probably say something like, "wow, that's interesting".

 

2 rims and tires 1300 bucks. holy jebus...

 

now that's just freaky

 

Southern Boy, remember when someone some time ago, was dropping big ass boulders off of the overpass in Virginia onto I-95 as cars passed?? I think near you. That was scary as fuck!

 

That's too bad dude. If it were in broad daylight you may have been able to get the plate number and make a police report. Well, moving forward, I hope you didn't invoke your dealer as an option based on that price which is highway robbery; NEVER do anything but warranty work at the Acura dealer. Their profit margin is HUGE because they know their client base typically can afford to spend double on parts They are overcharging you big time.

http://www.finishlinewheels.com/ACURA/TL/2007/

(There are other suppliers of OEM and take-off wheels, this is just one I found on google.)

$189 + $18 /wheel for the 10-spoke in a matte finish. Depending on what tire you have figure $150-$250 per tire installed with road hazard replacement etc. Total cost to you ~$600

What is your insurance deductible? If it's $500, you might ask your agent if this claim will count against you as some insurance companies base your rates on the number of claims filed in a given time period (which is highway robbery in-and-of itself).

 

moonflower- welcome to the forums. Too bad it was not under better circumstances. I too am sorry for your loss. I am assuming the driver of the truck didn't even know he lost that piece of wood and caused all that damage.

 

Yep it was, though not really to him (or me).

Early this year, my oldest daughter, who lives in Fredericksburg, was coming home from work with her little girl in her SUV. Shauna is a supervisor at Mary Washington University Hospital. Anyway, she was heading north on 17 and approaching the point where it passes under I-95, when she saw a truck up ahead with the driver out holding a flashlight and waving people around him. As she got close, she saw a man face down by the curb. She asked the truck driver, who was visibly shaken, if he had called 911 and he said he had. Not much that they could do anyway because the man laying on the side of the road was obviously dead. I asked how she could tell and she said, "because his brain was laying about a foot and a half away from his head".

She was somewhat amazed because it was the whole brain that was laying there, not pieces of it. His skull had apparently cracked open when he hit the street and his brain just popped out. Stuff like this doesn't freak her out because after all, she does work in a hospital and shes kinda like me in that way.. it doesn't bother me, either.

The man was the victim of a hit and run, but judging by where he was hit, it was his fault since there was a traffic light not far away where he could have crossed. He apparently had gone out to get some quick grocery things and got hit on the way back. The truck driver had just happened upon the scene and saw the body.

 

The incidents like this that I most recall where occurring in Prince Georges County in Maryland. In one incident, someone dropped a piece of concrete or something off of an overpass and it went through someone's window, seriously injuring his teenage daughter. She has permanent brain damage.

For a while after this was happening, whenever I passed under an overpass on I-95, I would quickly change lanes when going under just in case someone was targeting the lane I was in.

We haven't had anything like this happening here in western Prince William County that I know about (thank God).

The really freaky period was when the so-called DC snipers were loose and active. One of their victims was killed at a Sunoco station on business 234 in Manassas, close to I-66. I pass by that station every morning on the way to work. And one of the victims was killed in Fredericksburg at a gas station. He was taken to the hospital where my oldest daughter works. She told me of his injuries.

 

Dude, I get why your daughter is numb to that kind of stuff, but I don't ever wanna get to the point where seeing a guy laying on the ground with his skull cracked open and brain tossed to the side of him doesn't effect me in the slightest! DAMN! I mean, I ain't no punk, I wouldn't have nightmares about it either, but I don't want to be "cavalier" like:

GF: Oh my God! What's that?
Me: Oh, nothing babe, just a guy laying there with his brain beside him. Do we have anymore eggs at home? I'm suddenly in the mood for scrambled eggs!
GF: *passes out"

 

Yeah, there was a copycat over in VA I thought where someone did it and it was the couple's honeymoon, anniversary or something that were in the car. It hit the woman or man (I forget) and killed him/her. Near Spottsylvania I think. I could be wrong about that part (location).

 

That sucks. I feel your pain. I drive that freeway everyday between Corona and Ontario. About 2 months after I got my 05 I had a rock chip my windshield. There's always some gravel trucks or cement truck dropping rocks and stuff all over the road. I see trucks flying by with junk just hanging off the back not tied down. Sometimes people are just retarded and don't think straight, or they don't care.

 

I hit something at night on the freeway, a 6 X 6, concrete block, not really sure. Result was two blown passenger side tires, one dented wheel (front), had to get a front end alignment and right side tie rod and axle boot which was shedded. Also the front fender paint around the wheel well was scraped pretty badly by the steel belts, and the wheel well plastic liner was destroyed, all this even tho I pulled over immediately. All this for just going to Home Depot!

 

Please don't think me cavalier about this kind of stuff. It's more along the lines of not wanting to have it affect me to where it might put me in a dangerous position while driving. Some people are so affected by scenes like this that they wind up getting in accidents shortly after seeing them. The worse thing on the road I have ever seen was a victim of a hit and run, just after it had occurred. The man's right leg was almost completely severed from his body.. you could see the bone and muscle tissue hanging out and his right foot was up along side of his head. There was a rather large amount of blood under his body due to his femur artery being torn open. Obviously, he had bled out. It didn't bother me.. just made me feel sorry for the man that his life had to end in this manner.

Also, there's not a whole lot you can do for someone who is already dead.

I have had some other "interesting" happenings on the road.. maybe for a later time.

 

Moral of this story: Don't ride with Southernboy - you may see some nasty $hit...

All joking aside, glade the OP was uninjured and sorry to hear about his damage/resulting use of insurance.

Drive safe this New Years all!!

 

Or not...you can ghost write for Stephen King, Southern Boy! You have a flair for the macabre!

I guess after hearing about the crashes you encounter, I may actually prefer those assholes who get out of their car and hold up traffic arguing. At least they are standing there with limbs intact and no spurting arteries!

 

You're a good man, Smitty. May you enjoy the best that 2008 offers.

 

Crazy as it sounds, I have actually started several novels, but never got around to finishing them. Seems the theme was already dealt with by reality, so I suspect something got lost in the suffle. Maybe after I retire, I'll get back to them.

Hope you have a super New Years. Be safe and watch the other guy. Remember, cars don't heal.

Oh, BTW, one of the scariest things I have ever encountered when driving happened on I-95 around Fredericksburg in the wee hours of the morning one Saturday. Remind me to tell you about it.

 

For those of you who have it, or been hit, by strange and unusual debris on the highways, thank the Good Lord that you are safe and sound. A 6x6 is nothing to sneeze at.

For all of my friends on this great site, please do have a happy, safe, and enjoyable New Years and I do hope all of you see good times in 2008.

 

But wait. There is more....

Southernboy, tell em about the one in the late 80's when you lived in Arlington, VA and was driving your oldest daugther, her date, your wife and your other daughter to the dance.

 

You have a good memory. That's the story I related above about the guy who nearly had his right leg torn from his body. I was taking my oldest daughter and her date to a dance (she did cotillion dancing at the time). My wife and younger daughter were also in the car. I had just turned left from Carlyn Springs Road onto Columbia Pike and gone for maybe three blocks when I came upon the man with his leg almost torn from his body. We got there before any emergency people had arrived.. however some people were starting to come out of their apartments to see what had happened.

I remember it quite well. His leg was torn from the groin area, just below the hip. You could see muscle tissue and bone on both of the separated pieces. The strangest thing was the position his leg was in. It was parallel to the right side of his body with the foot next to his head.

On a lighter and more pleasant topic, I see you are in Ann Arundel County. Are you familiar with Shady Side?

 

Sorry to hear that that happened to you. When I see vehicles with loaded items/junk I usually drive far away enough that I have enough room to do some kind of maneuver or I could just fly past them.

 

i was driving to work one morning at 5am darkness on I-90 eastbound and i looked down to switch a cd out less than 2 sec, and then BAM!! Drivers side airbags go off and the car shakes violently and i get it under control again, finally slow down gradually, and pull over, get out shaking my head like WTF just happend? Look at my pass side front wheel, and its flat, and missing a football sized chunk of metal out of the rim (seriously). So this dude walks back to me from this 18 wheeler on the side of the road, and goes,"hey, you happen to see a driveshaft laying in the road back there? It fell out of my truck...." $6000 in repairs later the car is good as new.

 

Dayyuuummmm!!! Your wheel got knocked the fuck out! (j/k)

 

dealership said it was the worst damaged wheel theyd ever seen from just hitting road debris. Front suspension was still in alignment too.