The police, fire department and doctors say I'm a very luck man. What do you think?

[WillParkinson]

This morning I was on my way home from work. As I approached Florida street I saw a truck parked in the right hand lane. As I passed by the truck he swung the cherry picker on the back of the vehicle into the traffic lane. It shattered my windshield and smashed the top of my car on the drivers side.

I don't remember much about the accident. I know that I got out of the car (and that surprised the police/fire people, too) and asked the guy who was in the cherry picker if he was OK. He said he was not and then asked, 'Didn't you see my lights?' He had nothing blocking the lanes of traffic and had nothing else to show he was working.

The police said that the accident was his fault. He was taken to the emergency room by ambulance. I waited with my car until it could be towed away. The doctor said I pulled the muscles in my back on the right hand side and will be off work till at least Sunday.

The attached are the pictures that were taken before the towed it.

[MadMaddie]

1. WillParkinson I am glad you are okay!

Yea, you are lucky you escaped more serious injury.

It sounds like he didn't even think to look at oncoming traffic, holy cow.

[WillParkinson]

57. I've been wondering...

What the heck he was doing at 6:20 in the morning? It was pretty dark outside to be running equipment like that with no cones or anything to redirect traffic.

[mwooldri]

2. Ouch!!!! Yikes!

Please don't remind me. Yes you were very lucky. Some might say you had a guardian angel with you that day. Especially since the airbags didn't go off.

I've had three major accidents - first was with a semi tractor-trailer: someone had spilt diesel down the Interstate, it was raining, I hit a spot and played pingpong with the Mazda from barrier to barrier. It horseshoed the vehicle. I came out with scrapes and scratches. Didn't remember the crash though but I do remember being extracted and taken to hospital on a back board. Walked out of that hospital an hour or so later. Other two accidents were not so bad (a deer strike at 60mph on the Interstate, and a red-light runner in downtown Greensboro).

Yep. you were lucky. Glad you're only going to be sore (I hope at least!) Sounds like you did get to see a doc afterwards and get checked out - good thing if the doc is wrong then you have a medical case history.

[Phentex]

3. THIS is the sign you wanted about living where you work, lol...

Had you been living over the store, you would not have been driving.

Glad you are okay!

[WillParkinson]

9. Thank you Phentex....

If that's not a slap in the head to wake up I don't know what is.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Holy Smokes! Glad you are ok!

[Rosie1223]

5. Holy Crap, Man!

Glad you are OK!!

:hi:

[WillParkinson]

6. The insurance company just called. The car is a total loss.

We're going to get a check for 13k to get another car.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Maybe a little bit of luck, but mostly the talents and skills of engineers.

[WillParkinson]

8. See! Now that's what I said...

I'm not a big believer in luck (except in Warcraft where I don't have any at all). Ford did a great job of keeping me safe. :-)

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. Like everyone calling Sully's Hudson River landing a 'miracle'. No it wasn't -

it was the result of years of training, and the work of others who discovered and worked on ways to land a plane in water and then passed on that information to other pilots.

If *I* landed the river in the water that way, that would have been a miracle, because I don't know shit about landing a plane. I know physics, so I could have figured out a trajectory, but to figure out the controls and get the plane on that trajectory? For me, that'd be a miracle. I can hardly even catch a fucking ball when it's underhanded to me, and driving an automatic transmission car is about as dextrous and coordinated as I get.

[gratuitous]

10. Damn

How lucky do you feel, because I don't know that I'd call that kind of damage "luck."

Speaking from a background of personal injury litigation, and not in a legal sense at all or in the capacity of imparting legal advice, wait a couple of days before you decide you're okay. Soft tissue injuries aren't always apparent right away. Consider seeing a doctor for any symptoms, no matter how minor they might seem to you.

[WillParkinson]

13. The insurance company said the same thing...

They want me to sign some paperwork so that if I do need further medical treatment they can go after the guy who was responsible.

[elleng]

34. Read whatever it is VERY CAREFULLY,

and don't sign immediately; think about it, get second opinion. They are obligated to represent you, so YOU should be confident before you agree/contract for ANYTHING.

GOOD LUCK!

[LNM]

11. Wow!

If I were you, I'd go buy a lottery ticket right now!

[WillParkinson]

12. LOL

The fireman said the same thing to me. I'm pretty sure that if luck was involved I used it all up.

[foxfeet]

14. Oh, HELL no! I hope you didn't get hit in the head.

Don't avoid seeing a doctor (again?) if any new signs/symptoms arise. Sending vibes for a quick, comfortable and complete recovery.

[WillParkinson]

15. No, no head hitting...

After all, that would have likely been the first part not hurt! Like a steel helmet, I tells ya.

[nolabear]

16. DAMN. Buy a lottery ticket immediately. Glad you're okay!

[whistler162]

18. very lucky....

as a contrast.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/east_syracuse_man_killed_in_th.html

[struggle4progress]

19. Lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky

"Cherry-picker, meet Will's head!" would not have been a happy moment

[lumberjack_jeff]

49. ... lucky lucky lucky lucky

n/t

[flvegan]

20. The car did as it should have.

I'd say you're lucky that it hit at the pillar as the frame runs strong through there. Had it hit the center of the windshield or roofline, might have been worse.

Glad your okay, but that car is done for. Can't fix that.

[WillParkinson]

42. A little elbow grease and that'll buff right out....

Well, OK, maybe not.

[sarge43]

21. You have one hard working guardian angel.

Thank goodness you're all right.

You take it easy this weekend.

[REP]

22. Holy fuck, Will!

I'm so glad you're okay!

Please get medieval on their asses when you sue. :-)

[WillParkinson]

27. Sue?

I have no intention of suing anyone. I wasn't hurt (much) and as the police said, it was an accident and that happens.

We're getting a different car out of it so it works out.

[REP]

29. Police found the other driver at fault

Me, I'd sue. And I don't call out the sharks on a whim. Gross negligence of this sort makes me very angry.

[WillParkinson]

30. True, but the other driver was hurt, too...

I'm willing to chalk it up to an accident. I will not incur any medical bills that I'm aware of and our car is being paid for by our insurance agency (who will go after them).

[yankeepants]

23. It blows me away how fast everything can change

One minute you're driving along thinking about a million things that you have to do and suddenly not one of them is important because your life could have ended if one small element of time or space had been different.

I am so glad you are OK.

[WillParkinson]

58. "Suddenly not one of them is important..."

Tell that to my husband.

When I called him to inform him of the accident and asked him to come down he said, "We'll eat quick and then be down."

Eat? EAT?

And yet I'm still married.

[yankeepants]

63. Shock is an amazing thing.

His brain simply did not allow him to comprehend the scope of the situation.

It said "Stay the course. Keep to the plan. Nothing will interfere. That is until you have a couple of moments to absorb this that has happened."

Stay married. He loves you.

[WillParkinson]

67. I know he does.

I also know he's thick as a brick. (It's why he loves me.)

[bluedigger]

24. Glad you're OK!

You might want to be careful washing your hair for a few days - it looks like you probably caught a lots of microshards from the windshield. I know guys who have picked glass out of their hair for weeks after accidents.

[WillParkinson]

28. I had glass...

In places NO boy should have glass.

(I also keep finding it in my mouth. Weird sensation.)

[kimi]

25. Omigosh!!

Yes, you are a lucky man. A very lucky, blessed, man. Thank goodness. I'm happy for you, really.

[fishwax]

26. I don't think having a collision with a cherry picker is a sign of good luck

;)

But I'm glad you're okay :bounce:

[WillParkinson]

62. True. The collision was not good luck.

Walking away? Well, let's just say that Ford got a customer for life.

[jobycom]

31. Hit by a cherry picker isn't lucky. Being able to post about it afterwards is.

So you're like the statistician who puts his head in the oven, his feet in the freezer, and says "On the average, I feel fine."

Glad you're okay, dude. Lucky, unlucky, who cares? You're alive, make the most of it.

[Kali]

32. Holeee shit!

be good to yourself, it may hurt more on day two or three

yikes!

[WillParkinson]

35. Egad I hope not...

I'm not really looking forward to more pain. The little pull I have now is enough. (I'm a baby when it comes to being hurt.)

[Kali]

36. doc didn't give you any goodies?

motrin and warm bath/shower

[WillParkinson]

39. No...

I have some prescription strength Aleve that they said is what I would have gotten.

[applegrove]

33. You are so lucky you are okay. Glad he will be okay too.

[merh]

37. How did you get out of your car?

I mean, did the driver side door open? Can it open?

The photos are scary, you are indeed lucky. (Okay,okay, if you don't buy a lotto ticket, do you have six numbers you really like that you feel like sharing?)

[WillParkinson]

40. To be honest...

I don't remember getting out of the car. Yes, the driver side door opened (it looked weird, but it opened) but the police were wondering the same thing.

[ThomCat]

38. I am very glad your car was so sturdy.

:hug:

Congratulations on surviving that.

[WillParkinson]

41. Thanks...

I'm glad to come out of it mostly unscathed.

[doc03]

50. Good American steel there! n/t

[xchrom]

43. oy is that scary -- well your out and alive and showing pictures.

but is that ever scary.

[WillParkinson]

46. Yeah...

Now that I look at the pictures in a calm fashion (I was kind of freaked out most of yesterday) I see what all the fuss is about. That doesn't look fun at all.

[livetohike]

44. Will, just relax and breathe deep this weekend and yes,

you used up one of those fabled nine lives....:hug:. Hope the insurance is settled quickly.

[WillParkinson]

45. Our insurance company...

Is already cutting us a check for 13k to get a new car. I'm not sure what's going to happen with his or his company.

[WinkyDink]

47. Holy-moly! Glad you're all right! (The other guy was TOTALLY IN THE WRONG!!)

How would "lights" have indicated what he was about to do?!

[Call Me Wesley]

48. Oh my!

Glad you're ok! :hug:

[SeattleGirl]

51. Wow, I'd say you are lucky, Will!

Those pictures of your car are very scary! I'm so glad you're relatively okay!

[WillParkinson]

56. Thank you SG...

:-)

[MrScorpio]

52. You are damn lucky

How are you?

[WillParkinson]

54. Believe it or not...

I'm just a bit sore and stiff. No really major problems that I'm aware of.

[inna]

53. amazing post. - and who IN THE WORLD unrecced it, and WHY, i wonder???

[WillParkinson]

55. Unrec?

I do not believe you can rec or unrec threads in The Lounge.

(I will admit, looking at the pictures still freaks me out.)

[inna]

60. oops, sorry, i didn't realize this was posted in the lounge.

got linked here via your other post.

[DFW]

59. My wife was in one of those. She was luckier with repesct to injuries, not with the cops

My wife's got her car crushed by a semi turning right from the left lane (she was stopped next to him in the right lane,
at a red light, and wanted to make the same right turn). That she was able to crawl out of the wreckage unscathed was
basically the payout for my demanding that she let me buy her a sturdy car (otherwise I would have been a widower).
The driver of the semi accused my wife of being "not visible" (I kid you not), and said it was HER fault that he
crushed her car which hadn't even gotten into gear (she drives a stick shift).

Two policewomen came to the scene and charger HER with reckless driving, even though onlookers yelled to the two cops
that that very same truck driver had been menacing motorists in that neighborhood for months. The policewomen made
motions as if they were taking pictures of the accident scene, and then after my wife's wreck was towed, "noticed"
that their camera was defective, and no photographic evidence of the scene was preserved.

After the shock wore off, my wife was livid with rage at the two policewomen. Apparently, so was the immediate superior
of the two policewoman, who, upon examining the case had the charges against my wife dropped. It would appear that
"Involuntary driving in the vicinity of an asshole" is not a violation of German traffic laws.

[WillParkinson]

61. Wow...

I'm glad she's OK!

I'm also glad that she was able to get them to pay attention to the facts of the case. That's ridiculous.

[DFW]

66. It's worse than that

The two policewomen were perfectly willing to let their undocumented charges stand. My wife was
powerless to do anything about it. Only their superior officer could have made the charges go
away, and upon hearing the details, must have done just that.

[hippywife]

64. Thank goodness

you're okay! That is amazing. If that cherry picker would have swung around harder, I suspect the frame of your vehicle would not have stopped it.

I hope you feel better soon. :hug:

[WillParkinson]

65. Yeah, I keep thinking the same thing.

Kind of discomforting.