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It is with great sorrow, and a fair amount of anger, that I must announce that my once-gorgeous 2001 Z06 got killed, while I was stopped at an intersection, by an 87 year-old man who wasn't paying attention and never slowed down. I was about 10 feet behind a GMC Yukon and he hit me so hard that he pushed me under the Yukon. I took a pretty good beating....I don't remember anything after the accident, I still have really bad headaches, my vision goes blurry every once in a while and the ringing in my ears won't go away.
Hopefully I can get another one, one day, but for right now I need to heal and settle with the insurance company, but it's using base model Vettes for comparison, and I'm trying to explain to them that it's apples and oranges.
Here's the pics.
Last edited by VetBaby208; Dec 24, 2018 at 12:50 AM.
So sorry to hear. I had the same thing happen to me in 1996. My neck now has arthritis and I've had to take Aleve twice a day since,
Get well soon and hopefully this won't hamper your Christmas.
So sorry to hear. I had the same thing happen to me in 1996. My neck now has arthritis and I've had to take Aleve twice a day since,
Get well soon and hopefully this won't hamper your Christmas.
Thanks, and it won't hamper Christmas. I'm just grateful that I didn't decide to drive my '76 Jeep CJ-5 that day....with the small wheelbase, body structure and only lap belts, I'd be dead.
No doubt God was with you!
You have a lot of decisions to make. Number one thing to do is take care of yourself, and take care of your time in making careful and calculated decisions.
I refused an ambulance at the scene because of adrenaline and because my daughter was with me. She was only 6 at the time, so the seat and seatbelt totally protected her. The engineers at GM and the Good Lord did a fantastic job. That was the number 1 and only thing I cared about then and even now.
I lost my beautiful 1992 Camaro RS 25th anniversary car, and my neck will never be the same.
To add insult to injury, the original crash report indicated that I rear ended the 4 wheel drive pickup, that I wound up underneath, as if I was at fault. I had to complain to the investigating officer that I was knocked under the truck from the heavy impact of the elderly lady in the mammoth Caddy she was piloting! He amended the report to indicate the facts. May have had something to do with me being an off duty TN State Trooper and teaching him the error in the report.
It was a lose-lose for me health wise and financially because I didn't know the long term effects of my neck injury, and I choose the wrong attorney.
I sold my totaled car to a body shop and bought a new 1996 Camaro Z28 which thankfully I got a super deal on, and take Aleve 2 times a day to keep my neck from locking up and aching.
Your beautiful C5Z is as you said dead, and you are at a crossroad which course of action to take concerning your health and your ride.
Best wishes to you brother. No matter what year/model Vette you wind up in, you'll always be a C5 guy forever!
God bless you,
Larry
Last edited by lewislgZ06; Dec 24, 2018 at 03:51 AM.
I send my best wishes for a quick and complete recovery. I'm sorry that you were injured and your car was very seriously damaged. Hopefully, 2019 will bring better times for you.
Glad you are ok. I hope the insurance company starts changing their tune quickly - you can't settle as if it was a base model. If you end up buying it from insurance, I would be interested in those speedlines.
Sorry to see this...hope you get some satisfaction regarding your beautiful car but more importantly take care of yourself things can be replaced health and piece of mind are a different story. Have a safe and happy Holiday.
Glad you are still with us. Make sure you get fully checked out medically. I know it hurts to loose your vette, but things can be replaced.... People not so much. Hope everything works out and God bless..
Sorry to see this...hope you get some satisfaction regarding your beautiful car but more importantly take care of yourself things can be replaced health and piece of mind are a different story. Have a safe and happy Holiday.
A similar thing happened to my wife, 2 years ago (for the 3rd time). Fortunately, she was unhurt, physically, but now she's borderline petrified, every time she gets in a car. It's no fun at all, riding around with her. And then, of course, there's the financial loss that's involved. Even if the insurance gives you "book value", it's only a piece of paper, the check. You prized possession, however, is forever gone, and that's something you don't get compensated for....
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So sorry that you were involved in the accident and that your Z is a total loss. Hope you quickly recover from the injuries and can negotiate a fair settlement with the guy’s insurance company.
Sorry to learn you were injured in the accident. Cars can be fixed/replaced but sometimes bodies cannot. I know the older gentleman is probably not in your focus now. Understandably. But was he OK? This is Christmas time and sometimes a little thoughts about someone else's problems help us through our issues. Everyone makes a mistake at some time driving. I have and caused accidents. So when the opposite happens to me I chalk it up to life experiences. Now focus on your healing. The car comes way down the list. Merry Christmas.
Hope you can heal up quickly. 1st priority for sure. Don't settle for what they want to give you either. There's always more on the table. Best of luck to ya.
No doubt God was with you!
You have a lot of decisions to make. Number one thing to do is take care of yourself, and take care of your time in making careful and calculated decisions.
I refused an ambulance at the scene because of adrenaline and because my daughter was with me...
Larry, there definitely was an angel on my shoulder. Whether it was my late wife or not, I don't know, but the Z06 did its job and protected me. I can laugh a little about it now, but the accident happened literally right in front of West Valley Medical Center, and do you know they still put me in the ambulance to take me there???
Originally Posted by Naptown
Glad you are ok. I hope the insurance company starts changing their tune quickly - you can't settle as if it was a base model. If you end up buying it from insurance, I would be interested in those speedlines.
I'm not buying it back. I don't remember anything after the accident, so going to see it in the yard made me physically sick. The insurance company wants $4315 to buy the car back. They can keep it. It was in showroom condition, it still had a hint of new car smell. Now it's just a bad memory.
Originally Posted by leadfoot4
A similar thing happened to my wife, 2 years ago (for the 3rd time). Fortunately, she was unhurt, physically, but now she's borderline petrified, every time she gets in a car. It's no fun at all, riding around with her. And then, of course, there's the financial loss that's involved. Even if the insurance gives you "book value", it's only a piece of paper, the check. You prized possession, however, is forever gone, and that's something you don't get compensated for....
I understand how she feels. I've been involved in racing for years, whether it was on a course or straight line, and I did three combat tours in the Army....when I get in a vehicle now, it rattles me. I hope that feeling goes away, because I don't like it.
Originally Posted by 449er
Man that's tough to look at, You can always get another Corvette though. Take care of your health issues first
You're right, and I have to keep telling myself that, but it's hard when I think about the fact that I had my '82 stolen when I was in Hawaii and I sold my '79, because we had two little ones, and I went fifteen years without one, only to have my wife say to me last year that it was time to get another one, and that beautiful Quicksilver Z was sitting there on the lot speaking to me. It's hard.
Originally Posted by rrwirsi
Sorry to learn you were injured in the accident. Cars can be fixed/replaced but sometimes bodies cannot. I know the older gentleman is probably not in your focus now. Understandably. But was he OK? This is Christmas time and sometimes a little thoughts about someone else's problems help us through our issues. Everyone makes a mistake at some time driving. I have and caused accidents. So when the opposite happens to me I chalk it up to life experiences. Now focus on your healing. The car comes way down the list. Merry Christmas.
I know it's not the Christian thing to do, but I really don't give a rat's flying snotball about the old man. That cantankerous SOB tried to blame me and the lady driving the Yukon in front of me, saying it was our fault because we were stopped. If a person refuses to accept blame for his mistakes, I have no pity for him; if he tries to blame me for his mistakes, then he will pay by hook or crook, and he can go to hell. Yeah, I'm still mad about that part.
Originally Posted by mstromquist
Hope you can heal up quickly. 1st priority for sure. Don't settle for what they want to give you either. There's always more on the table. Best of luck to ya.
Thank you to everyone for all your kind words. In the end I know it's just a car, but when you've spent your whole life in love with them, it's kind of like losing a family member.
Merry Christmas everyone and very Happy New Year. When I'm healed up, and the dust has cleared from the insurance settlement and lawsuit, I'll keep you all informed on what happens.
Last edited by VetBaby208; Dec 24, 2018 at 04:46 PM.
It's Dead
No doubt God was with you! 
