Drew's Miata — HIT!
An amazingly busy day for Drew today — picking up my buddy Paul because he needed a ride to work; lots of appointments and training of a new individual at work; a run down to Cincinnati State Technical and Community College to get the instructor’s signature for permission to register for my second culinary class and to try on chef’s jackets; and a run to the dentist’s office to get a ‘bite plane’ — something for Drew to grind at night other than his teeth.
I was on my way to the dentist’s office and needed to jump on I-75 for about a mile and a half to get to my destination. I merged into the slow lane and had to slow down because traffic ahead of me was stopped. There was a kid in the middle lane, driving too fast, who swerved into the slow lane and was unable to stop. Instead, he smacked into the back of my Miata, sending me shooting down the shoulder of the highway until I could stop the car. The kid’s airbags deployed and his front windshield was a cobweb of cracks. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt (I’ve got a bump on the top of my head, and my neck hurts — I’m seeing a doctor in the next few days to check it out), though my Miata had to be towed away because the rear axle was leaking something expensive-looking. The tow-truck driver felt that one of the rear axles might have ‘popped out’ because the frame had been bent in the collision. 🙁
The officer from the St. Bernard Police Department was awesome — he went above & beyond the call of duty to handle the situation and help get me to my dentist’s appointment (not that I was hell-bent on the dentist’s appointment, mind you — it was just somewhere where I could go and wait until someone could pick me up).
Jo from Wendy’s hospital was kind enough to drive down and pick me up. Wendy couldn’t because she was swamped with appointments, so I greatly appreciate Jo’s willingness to help out.
My car was towed to a local towing place, and once I got home, I began making calls to my insurance company who was very helpful (thanks Angela and Bridget!). I’ll have a rental car tomorrow morning, so at least I’m mobile while this gets worked out.
Perhaps the worst part was for Paul, who was stranded at his office (because I couldn’t get back to get him!) until his lovely wife Kelly could rescue him.
UPDATE 8-18-03: Just off the phone with Woody at the body shop. The rear axle mounts were snapped in the impact, so the rear wheels are crooked at the moment. The rear axle will be completely replaced. Woody said that it was clear that the driver that hit me was going really fast and that I did not have the brakes on in my car at impact (this is a good thing), because my car would have absorbed a lot more of the impact if I were braking. As it was, my car ‘rode‘ the impact instead of absorbing it until I could stop it safely.