It was 11-16-03.
I was driving after midnight, weather was raining/misty temp was about 40 F.
A road that I use regularly. I was tired, but not doing the dozing thing. The investigating officer said that I flipped after making a sharp right manuever.
The road was a 2 lane 2 way street. Speed limit 35. I was not speeding. The shoulder is about 2.5-3 feet gravel then dirt/grass/leaves, with a mild decline. At about 5 feet from the road surface is a 4 foot high, chain-link fence and the ground begins a 45 degree decline into a 4 foot deep drainage ditch , and inclines back up about 7 feet to the back of a guardrail for a state highway. The fenceposts are spaced about 10 feet apart and the fence is 20-25 feet from the guardrail.
I did my own investigation of the scene and came up with the following:
I found the first and last fenceposts bent and the 2 in the center flattened, so the entry length was 50 feet maximum. Within that 50 feet, the right front went into the ditch that had water in it and caused the vehicle to flip , i.e., endo. The driver side rear pillar hit a guardrail support beam while sliding backwards, upside-down at approximately a 60 degree angle to the direction of the road. The passenger side roof impacted an overhanging asphalt ledge from the shoulder of the interstate, causing its' collapse. After hitting the support, the vehicle began to spin while inverted and slide about another 40-50 in the ditch.
So, the total distance after leaving the road surface was 80-125 feet and half of that distance was sliding on wet ditch foliage with the roof.
That's the best I can do because I don't remember any of it. I took a nice whack to the head and received 4 staples and 30 stitches to the left eye. Can't say I would have done anything differently.
Funny thing about the road is that before you come to the straight section that I was on, you have to take a hard left off a different highway....immediately hit a hard right............200 feet hard left........... then a sweeping right and left.............1/2 mile down is a bridge (nice little 3 mile frontage road).........another 1/2 mile is where I lost it.
Had under 7k miles on it and the underside looked flawless after the wreck. I offered the ins. buyback here, but no takers. I often wonder where it is now.
Anyhow, I purchased Sugino's VX from a dealer 1 month later. It already has many of the things I wanted to do to my ebony. My insurance almost covered my replacement costs.
The EMT's, tow operator and police said I'm lucky to have survived.
Thank you "old Ebony"; welcome new lifted, sc'ed "PROTON"
P.S. Folks just can't stop looking at the Proton.
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